


Training Wheels

by dyiansobrien



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Book 4: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Book 5: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Book 6: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Book 7: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Canon Compliant, Canonical Character Death, Draco Malfoy is Bad at Feelings, Enemies to Lovers, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/M, Good Slytherins, Hufflepuff & Slytherin Inter-House Friendships, Hufflepuff/Slytherin Inter-House Relationships, Lesbian Pansy Parkinson, Toxic Relationship, slight sexual harrassment
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-16
Updated: 2021-03-16
Packaged: 2021-03-17 19:22:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 60
Words: 213,462
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29476917
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dyiansobrien/pseuds/dyiansobrien
Summary: Draco Malfoy and Amora Buckley have never managed to see eye to eye in their four years of knowing each other. However, when the pair of them are locked in the library overnight, things start to change between them.Neither of them like it.
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 26
Kudos: 40





	1. prologue

PROLOGUE

"Oh gosh, oh gosh, oh gosh..."

The words slipped past Amora Buckley's lips like a small prayer, her heart hammering in her chest and her palms slippery with sweat as she grasped onto the door leading into the next carriage of the train. It had jerked unexpectedly beneath her feet, swaying from side to side as it whistled, the shrill noise echoing in Amora's eardrums.

She could feel the wheels of the train start to move forwards, quickly picking up speed until eventually, Amora felt it was safe enough to let go of the doorway she was blocking. A girl shoved past her as soon as she let go, scoffing slightly at the brunette who had dared to start moving down the carriage of the train. Amora was on the desperate hunt to find somewhere to sit, somewhere where she could actually relax and take everything in.

One seat. Just one seat, world, please.

In her momentary panic, Amora managed to somehow trip over her own two feet, a small yelp escaping her lips as she jolted forwards. She collided with a boy with platinum hair and paper skin, her hands scrambling to push herself off from him. The boy was already shoving her away without a second thought, his entire face scrunching up in what Amora assumed was a mixture of anger and disgust.

"Watch where you're going, dimwit!" The grey-eyed boy scowled.

When Amora's eyes enlarged she saw him smirk a little, a couple of the boys behind him snickering cruelly. He seemed to bathe in the idea of making the short brunette feel intimidated, folding his arms across his chest and glowering down at her cockily.

"I didn't mean to," Amora admitted apologetically.

"Then make sure it doesn't happen again," he spat.

A small huff escaped Amora's lips. She hated conflict and confrontation in general, but the boy in front of her was potentially the rudest person she had ever met... and for no real reason, either. She frowned, her brows knitting together.

"There's no need to be so rude about it." Amora gave a small glare before she pushed past him, making sure to bump her shoulder against his.

She was gone before the blond could say anything back. The brown-eyed girl moved into the next carriage and made sure not to so much as even graze past another student. Hopefully not everyone was as snappy as he had been. Amora didn't plan on making any enemies on her first day of school— or ever, actually.

"So you met Malfoy, h-huh?"

Amora looked to the timid voice talking to her and she smiled brightly at a boy with dark hair and a round face. He managed a small smile back, presenting his rather large two front teeth. Perhaps they only looked so noticeable because he was missing a few nearby.

"Is that his name? Malfoy?" Amora asked.

"Well, Malfoy's his last name, of course. His first name is Draco. Draco Malfoy," the boy answered before he cleared his throat, ran his sweaty palm down his trouser leg and held it in front for her to shake. "And I'm Neville Longbottom."

Amora shook his hand, ignoring the sweat politely. "Nice to meet you. I'm Amora Buckley. That Draco boy was... quite something."

"Have you not heard of the Malfoys?"

Amora was more than glad when Neville started to walk towards a compartment, silently letting her follow. She had dreaded the idea of sitting by herself, or worse— asking somebody to sit with them.

"It sounds rather familiar," Amora admitted. "I'm not the best at paying attention to all the blood type stuff."

"Draco comes from a long line of pure-bloods, basically," Neville explained as Amora glanced back over her shoulder, watching said blond boy laugh around with two bigger boys. "Got on this train not even fifteen minutes ago and he thinks he's some sort of gift."

Amora shook her head slightly. "People like that are..." she tried to find the right words. "Annoying."

"I know, right?" Neville said as he pushed open one of the doors to a compartment. "You want to sit with us?"

Amora glanced towards everybody sitting together on the seats. There were only three other people inside— a girl with bushy hair already clad in her school uniform, a boy with buzzed hair and the bluest of eyes, and a boy with messy hair balancing a ton of sweets on his lap.

"Sure," Amora beamed.

The girl with the bushy hair quickly stood with a smile and extended her hand, shaking Amora's. "I'm Hemione Granger. Pleased to meet you."

"Amora Buckley," the brunette replied. "And it's nice to meet you, too."

The boy with the electric eyes introduced himself as Seamus Finnigan and the other was Leon Holloway. Seamus had a thick Irish accent, exclaiming things that Amora had to strain to pick up on whilst Leon sat and ate at his sweets, offering the brunette one.

"I'm fine, thank you," Amora gently spoke. "I had some on the way to King's Cross. Don't want to rot my teeth."

That made Hermione grin widely. "That's exactly the kind of thing my mother or father would say!" The confused look on Amora's face made the other girl sigh. "They're dentists."

"Oh, brilliant," Amora beamed. "My mum never lets me eat too much sugar. She was worried about me going to school and getting to eat whatever I want."

Hermione giggled a little, silently deciding that she liked the girl who nearly looked like she was being swallowed by her robes. Her socks that had been rolled up were bunching around her ankles and the plaits in her hair were slightly frazzled.

"Amora, Amora," Neville exclaimed. "I can introduce you to my toad!"

"Your what?"

Hermione shot him a look. "What are you on about, Neville?"

The dark-haired boy suddenly went pale. Amora frowned immediately, watching as life seemed to leave Neville's body and he frantically darted to look under the seats.

"Oh, Merlin!" Neville cried. "Has anybody seen Trevor?"

"Trevor who?" Leon questioned.

"My toad!" Neville panicked. "It was a gift from my Great Uncle Algie. I'm dead. I'm dead. I'm so dead."

Amora and Hermione jumped into action, the frizzy haired girl looking underneath the seats whilst Amora placed her hand on Neville's back.

"Calm down, Neville. He can't have gone far," Amora assured.

"I'll start looking," Hermione declared as she moved to the doorway of the compartment. "You'll be fine, Neville."

Hermione was then leaving the compartment, her hair bouncing behind her as she strutted away, peering down every nook and cranny she went past. Amora pulled her hand from Neville's back.

"I can look too," Amora suggested. "What does it look like?"

"Um, a toad?" Neville tried.

She sighed slightly but forced a pursed-lipped smile, moving past Neville and out into the aisle. Amora walked in the opposite direction that she had seen Hermione head into, looking for Trevor. She would have felt a bit stupid calling his name out, so she settled for keeping a peeled eye instead.

"Looking for me again, Buckley?"

Amora's eyes snapped up and she nearly rolled them when she saw Draco Malfoy standing in the doorway of his compartment, leaning on it with a lazy smirk.

"No. Somebody that looks a bit like you though."

Draco raised his brows. "Blond? Dashingly handsome?"

"Neville's toad Trevor."

Draco's face immediately went bright red and his fists clenched. Laughter echoed from his friends behind him, making the blond boy grow furious. He felt so humiliated.

Amora opened her mouth to apologise, hating the look on his face, when Draco opened his mouth.

"Very funny," Draco sneered. "After finding out you were a Buckley, I would have assumed you would have had some more class. I guess not."

Ah, so now he wanted to get to know her now that he had discovered she was a pure-blood. In Amora's eyes, blood meant nothing. In fact, Amora loved Muggles. She thought they were fascinating creatures— sometimes more interesting than the supernaturals she had to read about.

The brunette squinted her eyes at him. "Have you been asking about me then, Draco?"

"I could say the same for you," the boy quipped back. "Considering you seem to know my name also."

Amora shrugged her shoulders. "Touché."

Before any more words could be exchanged, she heard a squeal of surprise come from a few compartments down, followed by other high-pitched screams and squeaks.

"It's- it's a frog!"

Amora's eyes widened. "I have to go."

She jogged down until she found Neville desperately trying to reassure a sobbing girl that his toad was completely harmless whilst it attempted to actually climb the length of her black skirt. Amora stifled her laughter with her hand before she saw Hermione standing a few doors down, talking to someone in another compartment.

The brunette grinned and raced towards her new friend. She clamped her hand down on Hermione's shoulder, causing the girl to shift a little, opening a space in the door for Amora. Inside the compartment, sat amongst a pile of sweets, was a boy with ginger hair and another with circular glasses. The boy with the glasses sent her a timid smile, which Amora easily replicated.

"Sorry to disturb you, but Neville found his toad, Hermione," Amora grinned toothily. "I think he's caused some trouble a few compartments down."

Hermione released a stressed sigh but turned to face the two boys. "I have to go." She looked back at the ginger one and pointed to her own face. "You've got dirt on your nose, by the way. Did you know? Just there."

The boy's freckled face scrunched up and he stopped chewing the sweet hanging half out of his mouth to rub at the dirt staining his pale skin. Amora silently waved goodbye before she was following Hermione to where the screams were dying down.

"Blimey, Neville, does your toad have razor sharp teeth or something?" Amora teased once the timid boy had left the girls' compartment with his toad in his hands. "That girl seemed quite distressed."

Neville awkwardly shrugged his shoulders, his hands gently clamped around his pet. "I- I don't know, I'm just glad I got Trevor back."

Hermione smiled slightly and patted Neville's back, starting to follow him back to where Leon and Seamus were waiting for them. Amora moved to follow when she felt a burning on the back of her head. She shifted, brown eyes peering behind her to see that Draco was poking his head out from the door, eyes squinted in what could be either anger or suspicion.

The corner of Amora's lips tugged up into a half-attempted smile as if to ease the tension, but Draco didn't smile back, instead sinking back into his compartment and shutting the door behind him quite loudly. Amora frowned but her face brightened upon hearing Hermione call her name a few moments later.

She took off in the direction of their compartment and chucked herself down into the seat to find everybody already laughing about the entire fiasco. Amora smiled and played with the end of her plait, glancing around at her fellow peers and praying that she ended up in the same house as at least one or two of them. Amora had good reason to believe that she would be in Hufflepuff.

Not only were her parents Hufflepuffs, but so was her older cousin, Cedric Diggory. He was three years older and promised to look out for Amora whilst she attended Hogwarts School of WitchCraft and Wizardry, but she dreaded the idea of him leaving when he finished his seventh year.

Amora brushed off any negative feelings and made sure to sink into the moment. She had a long day ahead of her, and perhaps a long next seven years, too.


	2. one

"Amora?"

The girl with the dark hair ignored the whispers of her name. She was convinced that maybe if she lay there long enough, her best friend might think she was simply dead and leave her on the rocky beach to drift away with the ocean. It was an unusually warm English day, golden streams of sunlight pouring onto her tanning skin. It warmed her shoulders and brought out the faint freckles dancing upon her button nose, which she crinkled when Leon Holloway hissed her name for the hundredth time that minute.

Finally, the Hufflepuff girl had enough. One brown eye opened as she feigned a teasing glare at the boy peering down at her. Leon had blocked out her sunshine, his shadow making her shiver on the rocky floor. Amora sat up on her elbows, causing Leon to back off a little with a sheepish grin. His dirty blond hair stuck out all over the place, still drying off from their day of fun in the water.

"Finally," her best friend sighed dramatically. "I was starting to think you were ignoring me."

"Hm..." Amora hummed, a grin taking over her face. "And what could have possibly given you that impression?"

Leon rolled his baby blue eyes. "I had a joke to tell you, but you took so long to reply, I've forgotten it."

Behind them, about a hundred feet away on the desolate beach surrounded by nothing by large cliffs, was the Buckley Cottage. It was a beautiful home, fit for the family of three and covered in ivy amongst other colourful plants. The aroma of freshly baked bread was nearly always floating from it, mixing with the salt of the sea in a way that Amora had grown up to love and later miss whenever she attended school.

Today was Leon's first day at the Buckley Cottage, and whilst Amora was thrilled to have him, he sure did manage to tire her out. Leon lived up in London in a small flat with just his father, so he wasn't used to the sort of space Amora had gotten used to in the past fourteen years. They'd rode around on their broomsticks whilst waiting for the sun to come around, and once it was at its midday peak, Leon was dragging Amora into the sea, which was far colder than he had expected.

"Remind me not to visit anytime but summer," Leon had hissed once they'd made it up till their hips in the water.

Amora had laughed, shaking her head in amusement. Living right on the South Coast of England came with its own problems-- such as it being freezing anytime apart from maybe late May to late August. Although, there was no guaranteed sunshine in that time either. Amora remembered one year that it rained all summer, and so she was forced to watch the sea crash about, unable to have any actual fun.

"Amora. Leon," Professor Buckley called from the front door of the small home, waving her tea towel in the air. "Tea is ready!"

Leon jumped, eyes nearly bulging out of their sockets. "I keep forgetting Professor Buckley is your mother," he admitted, holding a hand on his chest. "She nearly gave me a heart attack just then."

The brunette shot him a small look of disbelief before she laughed, clamped her hand down on his shoulder, and pushed herself onto her feet. Imprints of all of the rocks she'd been lying on had been made on her delicate skin, causing Leon to snicker to himself. He clambered up, towering over the short girl by a good six inches. He'd grown so much in the past year whilst Amora was simply starting to grow out of her awkward face.

Over the short summer, Amora ditched the plaits that Draco Malfoy liked to teasingly tug as he walked by and she'd lost some of the childishness from her face. Her change wasn't as drastic as the inches that Leon liked to brag about, but Amora still liked it. She seemed to smile whenever she looked in the mirror now.

"Last person back to the house is Filch's lover!" Leon blurted and took off as fast as he could.

His long limbs worked against the rocks, yet the city boy found himself crumbling over a particularly large one when he was only twenty feet away from the house. Amora laughed as she went around him, her dark hair flying behind her and her dress flapping in the wind. Once she'd made it to the front door, Leon was just staggering back to his feet, a disappointed look on his face.

"I meant to do that," he claimed.

Amora raised a brow and folded her arms across her chest. "Oh, really?" The teasing grin returned. "You meant to become Filch's boyfriend?"

Leon's entire face screwed up in pure horror. "No! No! I forgot about that..."

"Sure."

Once the pair had kicked their shoes off, they bounded towards the kitchen where a wooden circular table sat in the middle. It was just about big enough for the four of them, although Amora's knees were touching Leon's beneath the table. Mr Buckley had proposed that they get an extension countless times since they had just enough money to afford it, but Professor Buckley was adamant on keeping the old house just as they bought it all those years ago. It wasn't too bad anyway, it was just a hassle whenever they had guests come over.

"It smells delicious, Professor Buckley," Leon spoke as she placed the roast dinner down in front of him. "My father can't cook to save his life-- so this is a treat."

Amora's mother smiled at the sweet boy, patting his shoulder as she took the seat opposite him. "Thank you, Leon. You don't have to call me Professor whilst you're staying with us, you may call me Elle."

Leon didn't reply but sent a polite smile her way, raising his knife and fork as he started to tuck in. Mr Buckley was already scoffing down the roast potatoes, barely even glancing up at anybody else at the table. Amora's father had always been the quiet type. He wasn't exactly one for affection or any of that type of stuff. All he seemed to do was work, come home, eat, read, and then go to bed.

Occasionally, Amora found herself doubting whether her father even loved her or not. She faintly recalled him saying the three words when she was younger, but the only time they ever hugged was when she left for Hogwarts, or maybe on birthdays if her mother hissed in her ear for her to do so. It wasn't that he was a bad man... it was just complicated...

"Remember, you two," Professor Buckley spoke as she took a sip of wine from her glass. "My brother will be here at two in the morning to pick you up. Please don't try and stay up. Please try and get a decent nap in beforehand."

"Yes, mum," Amora sighed, shovelling some peas into her mouth. "Who do you think's going to win? I place my bet on Ireland!"

Her mother reached forward and smacked Amora's arm. "No talking with your mouth full, Amora. You should know better at your age."

Before Amora could apologise, Leon was talking eagerly. "But Bulgaria has Viktor Krum!"

"My mum's Irish, so I'm backing Ireland," Amora stated matter-of-factly, not leaving any room for her best friend to make any protests or debate.

"You're Irish, Prof-- I mean, Elle?" Leon winced when he spoke her first name, as if he was committing some sort of serious offense that would get him chucked in Azkaban.

Professor Buckley nodded. "Well, Northern Irish. I moved to England when I was a child, which is why I obviously don't have the accent," she spoke, "I wish I could come with you all to watch them play, but Amos couldn't afford another ticket."

"I'll be sure to describe it in vivid detail once we get back, mum. Don't worry," Amora grinned eagerly, her stomach doing flips when she imagined what she'd be doing this time tomorrow.

The Quidditch World Cup had not taken place in England for over thirty years, and so every wizard and witch up and down the country were trying to get tickets-- even people from all over the world, desperate to catch a glimpse of Bulgaria play Ireland. Most would be rooting for the latter, of course, and Amora had bought paints for them to make small Irish flags on their cheeks when they arrived. Leon had a flag tucked away somewhere in his bag.

Once tea was finished, Leon and Amora made themselves busy by washing and drying all of the dishes-- no magic allowed. Having your mother be the Professor of Muggle Studies had both its ups and downs. Even if she was pure blood, Amora was able to see life through a whole other perspective.

Often, Professor Buckley would take Amora to London during the summer or Christmas holidays where they'd blend in with Muggles and spend the day like tourists. She liked to incorporate as much Muggle activity as she could into her daughter's life, almost like some sort of experiment, but also because she said it would be humbling and teach her some great values. Amora didn't mind chores anyway, especially when she noticed the wizards and witches at school that did the least chores tended to be the most obnoxious or lazy.

Amora took a long, hot shower and cleaned her skin and dark hair of all sea salt. Once she'd properly washed her face and brushed her teeth, she slipped into her pyjamas and surrendered the bathroom to Leon before retreating to her bedroom.

It wasn't exactly a huge room, not that any room in the house was. Her single bed was by the window, and the bedside table beside it was stacked with books, a plant in a bright yellow pot on top. Many shelves clung to her white walls, all holding either books or plants or jars filled with things. In the small floor space Amora did have was the mattress Leon would be sleeping on whilst he stayed, so Amora had to walk over it to get to her bed.

Her wet hair fell behind her back as she grabbed a book thicker than her head and flipped through it until she found the bright orange train ticket she'd used for a bookmark. She read whilst she waited for Leon to return from the bathroom, which took maybe a maximum of fifteen minutes.

"Amora, what time is it?"

Amora glanced up at the small clock nailed to her wall. "It's nearly nine. I think we should try to sleep before my Uncle Amos gets here with Cedric."

"Okay," Leon replied softly, grabbing his duvet cover and settling down onto the mattress. "Amora?"

"Mhm?" Amora yawned as she slipped her book back where it belonged and went under her covers.

"Good night."

"Good night, Leon."

D.M + A.B

"Amora! Amora!"

Amora had never detested her name so badly-- other than the time she was sat next to Draco Malfoy in their first year and he said, "who would name their child Amora? Were they trying to open a door or something?" causing the entire class to laugh, of course. With a red face and tears brimming in her eyes, the young Hufflepuff had promptly replied, "says the boy named Draco!" silencing everybody around her. However, Leon was really striving for Draco's place.

It felt like she had only been asleep for ten minutes before his hands were shaking her awake. "What?" Amora groaned. "Please, Leon. Let me sleep."

"Your uncle and cousin are here," Leon exclaimed excitedly, watching her brown eyes flicker open. "We have to leave in half an hour if we want to make it in time."

It felt strange getting dressed in the darkness of her bedroom, only candle light there to aid her. Amora brushed out her hair and pulled on a casual dress, a white tee underneath it. She didn't think she'd ever worn anything but a skirt or a dress-- her cycling shorts always underneath, of course. Once she'd brushed her teeth again and washed her face, Amora was bounding down the stairs.

"Cedric!" Amora jumped into her older cousin's arms, wrapping him into a tight hug.

Cedric Diggory chuckled tiredly, hugging her back briefly as he turned away from the adults who were talking. Cedric was seventeen years old, only three years older than Amora, and everybody at school loved him. He was the captain and Seeker of the Hufflepuff team at Hogwarts and he was extremely handsome. More than once had Amora had a girl come up to her to ask if her cousin was single.

"Excited, Amora?" He asked.

"Of course, of course," the brunette replied. "Just a bit tired s'all."

Cedric gave her a teasing pout, making the girl roll her eyes but grin nevertheless. She planted a small smack to his arm, resulting in one back even harder. Amora's eyes widened and she turned, kicking her cousin in the shin playfully. As Cedric feigned a slow motion punch to her chin and Amora played along, flinging her head back. Mr Amos sighed loudly, making the two cousins pause.

"You'd think the two of you were under the age of ten," Professor Buckley tutted.

"Auntie Elle, Amora started it," Cedric replied in a whinish tone, playing along.

Mr Amos huffed and grabbed his son's shoulders, squeezing them. "That's enough, you two. Where's your friend, Amora? We should be leaving in two minutes to meet the Weasleys on time."

"I'm right here!" Leon came bounding down the stairs, red in the face and his hair wet as he clung onto the straps of his backpack.

It honestly looked like he had run a marathon, falling into multiple puddles during it. Amora frowned softly as he came to a halt right in front of her family, breathing out heavily.

"Sorry, I got toothpaste in my hair," he admitted before he perked up at the taller boy next to him. "Hi, Cedric."

"Hello, Leon."

"We should be on our way, then," Amos clamped his hands down on Cedric's shoulders. "I'm sure Amora will tell you all about it when she gets back."

"Of course!" Amora hugged her mother goodbye, earning a small plant to the top of her head. "Tell dad I said goodbye."

With that, they set off, eager to meet up with the Weasleys and head to the Quidditch World Cup-- where Amora hoped Ireland would win. 

D.M. + A.B

The sun was coming up as they trekked through some woods, following Cedric's father to where they planned on meeting Mr Weasley and his family. However, of course, once they reached the area they had planned on meeting them, they were nowhere to be seen. Amos set his bag down by a large tree, Amora chucking hers next to it and sighing in relief.

"Do I have sweat patches on my back?" She asked Leon worriedly.

"Nope," Leon replied, eyes widening when Cedric reached up to grab one of the lower branches of the tree and hauled himself onto it. "Cedric, what if you fall?"

"I'll live," Cedric chuckled in amusement at the younger boy's anxiety, continuing to climb higher.

Amora watched in awe before she herself moved forward. She had to jump to reach the branch that Cedric had originally climbed on, and she thanked Merlin for the cycling shorts she was always sure to wear beneath her dress. Cedric laughed when he heard his younger cousin following, ignoring Amos who was muttering something about his son being a bad influence.

"Bet I can climb higher than you," Cedric called.

"Bet you can, too," Amora huffed, blowing some hair out of her face as she hauled herself up another branch.

"Amora, don't lose your footing," Leon called worriedly. "Perhaps those aren't the best shoes to be climbing trees in."

Amora ignored him and from her position about ten feet above ground, she saw a sea of red hair heading towards them only twenty feet away. No doubt could Amos see them by now if he had turned around, but Amora found great pride in calling out first.

"There they are!"

"Arthur!" Amos called brightly as he turned. "It's about time, son!"

Amora was quickly scrambling to get back down the tree, listening as Cedric climbed from above her. She was giggling to herself, excited to see some of her friends that she hadn't seen in weeks. The last time she wrote to one of them was at the start of summer when Harry Potter had thanked her for sending him a few bags of Muggle sweets. Apparently, Harry's cousin was on some type of strict diet where he was basically only eating fruit, meaning Harry was practically starving every time he went to bed.

"Sorry, Amos!" Mr Weasley, who was leading half his children and Harry and Hermione Granger, apologised. "Some of us had a bit of a sleepy start. This is Amos Diggory, everyone. Works with me, at the Ministry."

"Leon, where's Amora?" Hermione was cut off short when Amora stumbled down the last couple of branches, wobbling on her feet and nearly landing backwards on her bum. "Never mind..."

Amora laughed to herself as she straightened up, rushing forward to take Hermione into a tight hug. The other witch hugged back just as hard, just as another body dropped from the tree. Amora silently promised she'd greet Ron, Harry, Ginny, and the twins later, since now everybody seemed transfixed on her cousin who was smiling and shaking hands with Mr Weasley.

"And this strapping young man must be Cedric, am I right?"

"Yes, sir," Cedric replied. "This way."

As Cedric started to lead them to where the Portkey was, Amora didn't miss the knowing glances that Hermione and Ginny shared with one another. She nearly grimaced, her nose scrunching up. She could deal with half the school having a crush on her older cousin, but she drew the line when it came to her friends, especially the Granger girl.

"How was your summer, Ron?" Amora asked the ginger boy who couldn't stop yawning into his hands as they trekked through the woods.

"Fine," Ron replied glumly to the girl. "How are you so awake?"

"Well, I've been awake for hours," Amora answered him. "We had to wake early to get here on time."

"I should have stayed at home," he groaned.

Eventually, however, the Hufflepuffs and the Gryffindors made it to the Portkey. The sun was just rising in the sky from where they climbed up a slope in the middle of a large field, Amora walking in between Leon and Hermione whilst she fiddled with the straps of her backpack. It was an old boot at the top of the hill, sitting amongst the slightly overgrown grass.

"Come on then," Amos called. "Don't want to be late."

Amora rushed to kneel by her cousin and put her hand on a section of the boot, everybody around her doing the same thing. She could faintly hear Harry confusedly wondering why everybody was touching 'some manky old boot', one of the twins barely giving any explanation. As Amos was counting down, she realised that Harry still wasn't touching it.

"Harry!" Amora called worriedly, Mr Weasley repeating his name much harsher.

Without a second to spare, Harry reached forward and clamped his hand around the top, Amora's uncle calling out the final number. Screams and yells were heard as they suddenly started to spin, a surreal sensation that made the young witch feel like she was flying without a broomstick. Scratch flying, actually, falling, more like.

"Let go, kids!" Mr Weasley yelled, laughing.

"What?" Hermione squeaked, but Amora was already doing as she was told.

Merely seconds later, they were all catapulting onto a grassy floor, their bodies hitting it rather roughly. Amora groaned a little as she sat up, looking around at all her friends sprawled out surrounding her. The Weasley twins were already climbing up as Cedric, Amos, and Mr Weasley came nearly walking down from the sky in an angelic way, landing without even a flinch. Harry looked at them in disbelief before he accepted Ron's father's hand up.

"Well, kids, welcome to the Quidditch World Cup!"

A chorus of gasps ripped past all of the teenagers lips, eyes widening at the sight over the hill. A huge piece of land was covered up and down by tents and flags and people and people trying to sell things. Some wizards even flew above their heads on their own broomsticks, laughter and music echoing in their ears as they headed right for the heart of the party.

"This is amazing," Leon gaped from beside his best friend, holding her wrist as they squeezed past a group of middle-aged men with their shirts off, the Irish flag painted across their hairy chests. "Not that."

Once they split from the Weasleys, Hermione, and Harry, Amos led Cedric, Amora, and Leon to a tent of their own not too far away, where they unpacked all of their things and made themselves comfortable until the match started.

It ended with Amora dragging Leon over to the Weasley's tent where she begged everyone to paint their faces with her. She managed to convince the twins and that was it, but it was better than nothing. Whilst she sported two small flags on her cheeks, Fred and George had used up the last of her paint to cover their entire faces.

"I wonder who they support," Ron muttered sarcastically later that evening as they attempted to find their seats amongst the chaos.

Amora could barely open her mouth to reply, all she could think about was how high up they were. They truly did have good seats thanks to Amos and Arthur's connections. Perhaps too good...

"We're so high up," she swallowed, her voice merely a squeak as she clung to the nearest person beside her-- Ginny.

Ginny didn't seem to mind, her face softening as she held Amora's arm back. Amora did feel a little pathetic clinging to a younger year, but everybody had their fears-- and hers were heights and needles. In fact, she remembered nearly having a panic attack when Professor Lupin tried teaching them about Boggarts last year. She could barely stutter out the spell to get rid of it.

"Oh gosh." She dared herself to peer over the edge. "How far up are we exactly, Uncle Amos?"

"Well, put it this way," a voice came from the section below. "If it rains... You'll be the first to know."

Mr Weasley and Ron both peered over the edge either side of Amora, glancing down at Lucius Malfoy and Draco Malfoy. The father and the son stared up at them with matching platinum hair and dark suits, though Lucius' blew slightly in the wind behind him from its incredible length. Amora was sure that it was longer than hers. The smirk on his face nearly made Amora roll her eyes, especially when Draco's grey eyes met hers and he chuckled at his dad's remark as if to make a point.

Draco loved to make Amora feel uncomfortable, as if it was his favourite hobby other than terrorising whichever first year looked at him the wrong way. It was as if ever since she accidentally stumbled into him on the Hogwarts Express at the age of eleven he'd had some sort of personal vandetta against her.

"Father and I are in the Minister's Box," Draco called up to them, not looking away as he started to follow his dad. "By personal invitation of Cornelius Fudge himself."

Draco was brought to a sudden stop when Lucius raised his cane and shoved him in the chest with it. The blond finally tore his eyes away from his classmates, a frown on his face as he looked to his father.

"Don't boast, Draco," Mr Malfoy scolded. "There's no need with these people."

Harry started to back away, but Mr Malfoy reached to grab the back of his jacket with the cane. "Do enjoy yourself, won't you? While you can." His smile sent shivers down Amora's spine. 

D.M + A.B

"Ireland! Ireland! Ireland!"

"Krum! Krum! Krum!"

Whilst Krum had caught the Snitch for Bulgaria, Ireland had still ended up winning by 10 points, leaving Amora feeling rather victorious. At least if England couldn't win the World Cup, then Ireland would. Out of pure adrenaline, Amos had allowed Leon and Amora to head back with the Weasleys to celebrate, and boy did they celebrate.

The tent was alive with music and dance, the two twins making obnoxious music with their mouths and attempting to do an Irish dance in the middle. Mr Weasley was lighting a fire in the corner whilst the Golden Trio draped themselves in flags and laughed. Fred grabbed Amora by the hands and dragged her over.

"C'mere wee lassie!" He called.

"You sound Scottish," Amora laughed as George grabbed her other hand, forcing her to move with them.

She kicked her legs up in a lame attempt to keep up with the twins, Leon laughing from where he was sat watching. Once they were sure she wasn't going to ditch them, they released her hands and looked for new recruitments, grabbing Hermione who rolled her eyes but smiled, grabbing Amora's hands to join. Leon was about to join when there was the sound from fireworks outside-- so loud that the ground shook beneath them.

"Sounds like the Irish have got their pride on," Amora heard one of the twin's joke.

"Stop!" Mr Weasley came rushing towards them, stopping Ron from hitting his brother with a cushion. "Stop it! It's not the Irish." He rushed to Ginny and grabbed her arm. "We've gotta get out of here. Now."

Amora's heart dropped and she swallowed thickly, stunned into silence for a moment. Leon was grabbing her by the arm and trying to pull her towards the exit of the tent.

"My- My Uncle! Cedric!" Amora panicked.

"They'll find us," Leon reassured her, but he didn't sound too sure.

With everybody else, Amora and Leon raced out of the tent and found themselves on what looked more like a battle ground than a party. Screams were coming from everywhere, entire tents set on fire and smoke forming clouds above their heads. People flew around on broomsticks above, randomly firing spells.

"Get out! It's the Death Eaters!" Somebody screamed.

"Get back to the Portkey, everybody, and stick together!" Mr Weasley yelled before pushing his only daughter towards the twins. "Fred, George! Ginny is your responsibility."

It was hard to get anywhere with all of the shoving going on, but Amora used her petite frame to her advantage. Her hand never left Leon's as she tried to weave in and out of fully grown adults prepared to shove her back down if it meant saving their own lives. She cried out when she felt Leon's grasp on her weaken, and then she was being shoved forwards.

"Leon!" Amora screamed, trying to turn back around. "Le!"

She was in the middle of a herd of adults, their hands trying to force her to go faster. She couldn't hear Leon anymore, all she could hear was the frantic beating of her own heart and the screams and small explosions around her.

The brunette felt tears coming down her face before she even knew she was crying, but they weren't for her. Suddenly, a large hand grabbed Amora's arm and was tugging her to the side, out of the thick sea of people.

"Amora," Cedric sighed in relief, but it didn't last long. "Come on, we gotta go. My dad's got Leon, we're fine."

"The others!" Amora protested as Cedric started to drag her towards the Portkey. "Hermione, Ron--"

"They'll be fine, Amora!" Cedric nearly snapped, shielding her smaller body as they dodged past people running in the opposite direction. "Come on."

With one final tug, Amora was heading off with her cousin, but the only thing on her mind was whether or not her other friends were safe.


	3. Chapter 3

"I'm hungry."

Leon huffed as he looked at Amora, narrowing his blue eyes. It was the fifth time she had mentioned it in about an hour, yet she made no attempt to get up and go and find the woman with the trolley. She sat on the seat across from him, her legs curled up and her head resting against the window. Her breath would create condensation on the glass, and every now and then she would reach up to draw a half-hearted heart with her finger.

"Why don't you go get something to eat, then?" Leon suggested.

"I don't want to waste my money," she admitted. "I'd rather wait until we get to Hogwarts and eat everything on the Hufflepuff table... Then if I'm still hungry I'll move onto Ravenclaw's table." 

Leon chuckled a little, shaking his head. A small silence filled their lonely compartment of two and Amora's thoughts drifted back to the Quidditch World Cup less than two weeks ago. Nobody knew what had quite happened, or how exactly the Death Eaters had managed to take over so quickly, but Amora was just thankful that her friends had all made it out safely. She didn't like to dwell on it too much.

Amora started to play with the ends of her hair when she saw a group of boys walk by, the leader pausing when he noticed who was in the compartment. She sighed, rolling her eyes as she sat up. Draco Malfoy wore a shit-eating grin as he pulled open the door and leaned his head inside. He was taller than last year and his face seemed to have matured a tiny bit more.

"Well, if it isn't Buckley and her boyfriend," Draco sneered. "What are you doing in a compartment all by yourselves? Nothing too crude, I would hope."

"What do you want, Draco?" Amora sighed again.

"I just think it's a little inconsiderate for two people to take up so much room." Draco gestured with his hand to the entire compartment. "You wouldn't mind if we joined you, would you?"

Draco most likely had seats further away, but Amora knew Draco liked to annoy her. He would do anything he possibly could to get under her skin, almost as if he liked to see how long it would take until she snapped and bit his head off. One time she actually did, back in their first year when he'd been terrorising Ron and Harry. She tackled him to the floor there and then, a pathetic fight took place where Draco refused to hit her because she was a girl whilst she just shook his shoulders as hard as she could, screaming some sense into him.

"Piss off, Draco," Leon hissed.

Pansy Parkinson laughed from where she stood next to Blaise Zabini, Goyle, and Crabbe. "Oo," she teased. "We've got ourselves a fiesty Huffelpuff."

Leon rolled his eyes when Draco laughed. "Oh, leave it, Pansy," the ice-haired boy smirked. "Leon just wants to spend time alone with his girlfriend. We should respect that."

"So go away then," Amora huffed. "I'm sure you have better things to be doing, Draco, and if you don't then you live a rather sad life."

The grey-eyed boy's brows knitted into a frown, but before he could say anything, Amora heard a voice come from behind them.

"She said go away, Malfoy," Harry warned.

Draco lifted his hands up to mock surrender. "Calm down, Potter. A bit of a love triangle you have going on here, hm, Buckley?" He teased her with the sick smirk he constantly wore.

Sometimes Amora wished she could reach up and smack it right off of his face, but she was sure to regret it straight after. Draco didn't say anything else but shot his eyebrows up at Harry, as if to seem intimidating. He made sure to shove him with his shoulder as he went past, leaving Harry with Amora and Leon.

"Are the two of you okay?" Harry asked, standing in the doorway where Draco had been.

"Yeah, thanks, Harry," Amora smiled sweetly at him. "You didn't have to do that, honestly."

Harry's cheeks seemed to redden a little and he scrunched his nose as he adjusted the circular glasses sitting above them. Leon looked between Harry and Amora with a knowing expression, except he knew the brunette girl was far too oblivious to even notice what was going on. Amora lived in her own little world-- Leon always said that she read too much, it filled her brain with too many ideas and forced her out of the real world.

"Anything for you, Amora," Harry meant for it to sound teasing, as if to lighten the slight tension in the compartment, but it came out in a rather breathless chuckle.

Amora chuckled back. "Hey, why don't we join you guys? If you don't mind."

"Oh, no, no, no," Harry stepped aside so they could walk past him and out of the door. "I'm sure Hermione would love some girl company. Ron's doing her head in."

Leon scoffed. "I'm sure."

D.M + A.B

"Well, no we're all settled in and sorted, I'd like to make an announcement."

Amora sat beside Leon at the Hufflepuff table which was now filled with plenty of new, younger faces. Her stomach growled as she waited anxiously for Dumbledore to get his annual welcoming speech over and done with, her brown eyes practically glaring at the empty wood in front of her. She couldn't wait for it to be filled with the food she'd been craving since breakfast this morning.

Stood at the front of the room, right in front of the high table, was Professor Dumbledore in all his glory. "This castle will not only be your home this year, but home for some very special guests as well..."

Amora glanced up when she heard quiet giggling, her eyes landing on Filch who was running in between the Hufflepuff and Gryffindor tables. At least, Amora was pretty sure he was meant to be running-- it looked like he was trying to shake something off of him at the same time, his knees lifting far too high to be practical with each step. The brunette stifled a laugh of her own behind her hand.

Once he reached Dumbledore, the pair began to whisper incoherently before Filch began to rush off again, leaving the headmaster to straighten himself up and clear his throat.

"So Hogwarts has been chosen to host a legendary event: The Triwizard Tournament," Dumbledore's words caused everybody to start whispering excitedly, whilst Amora leaned forwards, eager to know more. "For those of you who do not know, the Triwizard Tournament brings together three schools for a series of magical contests. From each school, a single student is selected to compete. Let me be clear. If chosen, you stand alone. And trust me when I say, these contests are not for the faint-hearted. But more of that later... For now, please join me in welcoming the lovely ladies of the Beauxbatons Academy of Magic and their headmistress, Madame Maxime."

The large oak doors to the Great Hall opened and the girls from Beauxbatons stepped through, causing a small ripple of gasps throughout the Hogwarts students. Amora shifted in her seat to see them better and she couldn't help but gush over how beautiful their uniform looked. They wore blue dresses with matching hats, their hair all tied back into low ponytails. Amora thought they looked so... angelic.

They did some sort of small dance as they walked down the length of the Great Hall, and that's when Amora noticed the woman following them. She felt Leon nudge her harshly as if to ask if she was seeing what he was seeing, to which Amora nodded quickly without even taking her eyes off of the woman. She was much taller than Hagrid, and that was saying something. When Dumbledore took her hand at the end of the hall it looked almost comedic.

"Blimey..." Amora whispered. "I wonder what milk she has in her cereal."

Leon snickered before the two were hushed by Susan Bones, the Hufflepuff girl wearing a small glare on her face. The two best friends shot each other looks and quieted down, cheering with the rest of the school when the Beauxbatons were finished with their routine.

"And now our friends from the north..." Dumbledore boomed. "Please greet the proud sons of Durmstrang and their high master, Igor Karkaroff."

The boys came in next, and Hogwarts seemed to be stunned into silence. They were a complete contrast to the purity the Beauxbaton girls had shown, instead holding walking sticks that they hit on the ground with every step and released deep rumbles from the back of their throats. Amora raised her eyebrows as they spun them around and then hit them on the floor, sparks shooting from them.

Then, they took off running to the end, a familiar figure walking through last. Everybody started to whisper frantically-- it was none other than Viktor Krum, a Quidditch player from the Buglarian team that had played in the World Cup a couple of weeks back. Amora was sure that Ron was having a heart attack wherever he was on the Gryffindor table.

The show ended rather abruptly after that, and Amora quickly grew bored of all of the talk about Beauxbaton and Durmstrang-- she just wanted the food to come out. Nevertheless, it did only a minute later, and there was a beautiful selection of all of Hogwarts' best food. Her plate was stacked high within a couple of minutes of the food coming out.

"Blimey, Amora," Leon wiped his mouth with a napkin. "Slow down or you'll be sick."

"I'm so hungry, Leon, you don't understand."

However, despite being hungrier than... well, whatever was hungry, Amora ended up only eating half her plate before collapsing her head onto Leon's shoulder and groaning dramatically as she rubbed her belly. She did this every evening. Her mother always said she had eyes bigger than her belly, though Amora hated that expression with a great amount of passion for some reason.

"Your attention, please!" Dumbledore called from the front once nearly everybody had finished eating. "I'd like to say a few words. Eternal Glory. That is what awaits the student who wins the Triwizard Tournament, but to do this, that student must survive three tasks. Three extremely dangerous tasks."

"Count me out," Amora whispered to Leon, who nodded in agreement.

"For this reason, the Ministry has seen fit to impose a new rule. To explain all this, we have the Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation, Mr Bartemius Crouch."

Before the man stepping forward could talk, lightning and thunder struck outside so viciously that the Great Hall seemed to rattle, the floating candles above being put out. Small screams echoed around them and Amora shielded her own head, looking around in a panic as people yelled in confusion.

Suddenly, a man at the front of the room cast a spell with his wand, zapping the candles and relighting all of them once more. The thunder and lightning stopped outside and Amora glanced up, recognising the man as an Auror, Alastor Moody. She'd seen him in the Daily Prophet on multiple occasions, since he happened to be a mighty good dark-wizard catcher.

Everybody stared for an awkwardly long amount of time at the man with the eye patch, a few whispers coming from the Gryffindor table where Harry was sitting. Amora sometimes wished she was a Gryffindor simply for the gossip, but then always had to remind herself how badly she did with keeping secrets and handling the stress of other peoples' lives.

Mr Crouch moved to the front of the room to finally deliver the news. "After due consideration, the Ministry has concluded that, for their own safety, no student under the age of seventeen shall be allowed to put forward their name for the Triwizard Tournament."

"No way!"

"That's not fair!"

"That's rubbish!" Amora heard the twins over everybody else, making her snort slightly.

"You don't know what you're doing!"

"It sounds like the crowd at a football match," Leon joked, earning a confused look from Amora. "Right. Um, you know football, but the matches in the arenas... Yeah... Crowds full of grown men who are way too passionate. Normally it's racist stuff they're yelling, but yeah..."

Amora hummed to herself with a small frown. "Oh. It doesn't sound very... nice."

"Silence!" Professor Dumbledore boomed over the boos.

He lifted his wand and cast a nonverbal spell that caused the golden statue beside him to turn into a huge goblet emitting blue fire.

"The Goblet of Fire," he continued. "Anyone wishing to submit themselves to the tournament need only write their name upon a piece of parchment and throw it in the flame before this hour on Thursday night. Do not do so lightly. If chosen, there's no turning back. As from this moment, the Triwizard Tournament has begun."

D.M + A.B

The Hufflepuff common room was filled with laughter when Amora pushed the door open that evening. She was more than tired from the train journey to Hogwarts and she couldn't wait to go to bed in her dormitory which was honestly comfier than her mattress back at home. Much to her surprise, Cedric stood in the middle of the seating area, people surrounding him as he spoke.

"Ah, there's my cousin." His eyes landed on her and he grinned proudly. "You missed the news, Amora. I'm going to be putting my name in the Goblet of Fire!"

This caused another roar of applause from the Hufflepuffs surrounding him, but Amora frowned slightly, a bad feeling forming in the pit of her stomach. Leon started to clap excitedly from beside her.

She reached up and grabbed Cedric's arm, pulling him away from their fellow students and over to the corner. Plants hung low from the ceiling and Cedric had to move his head out of the way of one of them, warning Amora to slow down a little.

"Cedric, I don't think you should," she admitted worriedly.

"What?" Cedric frowned. "Why?"

"Well, I- I just think that Dumbledore was barely trying to sell it to us back then... In fact, it sounded more like a plea for us not to even do it in the first place, Cedric," Amora expressed her concerns with animated hand movements.

Cedric chuckled and lowered her hands. "Amora... I'll be fine. Even if I do get picked, which I doubt will happen anyway, I bet I could beat off the others with a blindfold on," he joked.

"Hm..." Amora didn't even crack a smile, which was unlike her. "Have you talked to Uncle Amos about it yet?"

"Not yet, but I'm sure he's going to be more than thrilled when he discovers a Diggory has put his name forward. It's too bad you're not seventeen yet--"

"Oh, bloody hell, no," Amora cut him off right there. "Don't go spreading lies now, Cedric. You and I both know I can barely go twenty feet in the sky on a broom without feeling faint."

The Hufflepuff boy laughed and shook his head. His large palm came down on Amora's shoulder and he gave it a gentle squeeze.

"Just trust me, yeah?"

Amora bit her lip as she hesitated, "Okay."

Amora would wish she had gone with her gut instincts in the months that came.


	4. Chapter 4

Amora was worried about Cedric, but she tried not to dwell on it too much. Leon thought it was pretty cool that a Hufflepuff was brave enough to go forward and put their name in the Goblet of Fire, and everybody else seemed to think so too, so Amora zipped her mouth. Besides, Cedric was the older cousin-- not her. She shouldn't be trying to act like a parent and hold him back.

School had only been back in session for a couple of days, but already the brunette was exhausted. Her brown eyes held small bags underneath them, but it was nothing that a dash of concealer and a bright smile couldn't hide. During her free period, Amora found herself wandering around the halls of Hogwarts, trying to make her way back to the common room whilst reading her book.

She was so captivated by the words on the page that she nearly walked straight into somebody coming her way. If they didn't have the most white-blond hair that Amora had ever seen, then perhaps she would have missed them completely. She glanced up, sending a small nod and half a smile to Draco.

Almost immediately after she did so did Amora want to smack herself around the face. She needed to remind herself not to smile at every person she walked by-- especially when their last name was with Malfoy and they made fun of her and her friends.

"Did you just smile at me, Buckley?" Draco snickered, narrowing his eyes at her. "Careful, Leon might think you're in love with me or something."

Amora scoffed, pausing in her tracks. "One, Leon is not my boyfriend, no matter how much you want him to be, Malfoy. And two, you are the last person in this entire castle that I would ever fall for. Even Snape comes above you."

"Ouch," Draco mocked, holding a hand on his heart. "That truly hurts, Amora. I thought you had been genuinely happy to see me."

"The day I'm happy to see you is the day that I've lost my mind." Amora rolled her eyes.

Amora would have felt bad saying that if it was to anybody but Draco Malfoy. As far as she was concerned, their mutual hatred consisted of teasing, teasing, and more teasing. Genuinely hateful remarks only came from their lips when they'd embarrassed the other in front of other students and they needed a better comeback, but other than that, it sometimes felt like Draco and Amora had some mutual respect for each other, although that feeling hadn't sprouted since last year, when Draco had helped her.

LAST YEAR.

Amora's eyes flickered open, a small hum coming from the back of her throat as consciousness took its grip on her body. She realised she must have fallen asleep whilst reading one of the many Muggle books she kept stashed beneath her bed, the book now sprawled out across her lap and the bookmark to the side. She sighed, picking it up and groaning when she realised that she had lost her place. The number of times that this had happened because Amora would constantly read until she passed out was becoming a problem.

She rubbed at her eyes with the backs of her hands and stood up from her spot against the stone wall. Her legs were slightly numb from the way that they had been awkwardly crossed-- in fact, Amora wondered how she could have even fallen asleep comfortably in such a position.

Muffled talk was coming from around the corner, causing Amora to curiously glance over. She was heading for the Wooden Bridge to head back to her dormitory anyway, so there was no hurt in pausing for a moment or two. Standing in the Stone Circle were Draco and his two minions, Crabbe and Goyle, and heading right for them were Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

Amora shifted in her spot with a soft frown, holding her book tight to her chest as she heard Hermione start to yell. "You. You foul, loathsome, evil little cockroach!"

The brunette's hand rested over her mouth in shock as she watched the young witch grab her wand and point it directly to Draco's throat. Draco cowered back against one of the large stones standing in the ground, a panicked expression written across his pale face whilst his two friends simply watched.

"Hermione, no!" Ron warned. "He's not worth it."

Draco was a whimpering mess right until Hermione decided to pity him, lowering her wand. She turned to back away when the Slytherin boy started to snicker to his friends, causing Hermione to suddenly whirl around and punch him right in the face.

Amora winced from where she could hear the smack of Hemione's knuckles against Draco's face from all the way over by the Wooden Bridge. Her feet instinctively stepped forward as if to go and help Draco, until she remembered who he was. Instead, she moved back cautiously, watching as Draco groaned in pain and started to slide down the rock.

Before he could, his two friends grabbed his arms and they started to run in Amora's direction, away from the three best friends who were watching smugly. Draco caught sight of Amora before he could enter the Wooden Bridge, a scowl crossing his face as he held his nose with his hand as his friends kept running.

"You. You better not tell a soul what you just saw, Buckley," Draco sneered.

Amora clutched her books tighter. "Do you mean the way Hermione totally just put you in your place? Or the way you were crying like a baby before she'd even landed a punch?" Her smile seemed harmless, and it honestly was, she loved to tease Draco-- though, his comebacks were always a lot more personal.

Draco looked like he didn't know what to say for a few moments. He glared down at her, moving forward until the brunette was backed against the wall. It pressed coldly against her back from where the Hufflepuff jumper she wore had rode up a little. Half of it was tucked into her black skirt, the other half out by accident.

"Any of it," Draco admitted, his voice intending to come out rough and intimidating, but Amora saw right through it. He sounded completely embarrassed.

"Would you like me to take a look at it?" Amora offered, despite their differences.

The boy with the icy hair took a step back as if she had offered to give him a second punch. Amora lightly rolled her eyes, wondering when Draco was going to get over himself and stop acting as if everybody was below him.

"No," he snapped. "No, I don't want you coming anywhere near me, Buckley."

Amora sighed in defeat, shrugging her shoulders. "Right. Well, you best be on your way to Madam Pomfrey then, huh?"

"I was just about to do that." Draco glared and started to march away, all the way down the Wooden Bridge and back towards the main building.

The brown-eyed girl let her vision follow him for a moment or two before she looked away and realised that the Golden Trio were gone. Amora grew curious, wondering where they might have gone. She headed over to the Stone Circle right where Draco and his two friends had been, looking out where he had been looking.

She had the perfect view of Hagrid's Hut from in the garden, and Buckbeak tied to a post amongst large pumpkins placed outside it. Just as Amora started to move to head back to her dormitory like she originally planned, the back door to Hagrid's home snapped open and three familiar figures came running out of it to hide behind the pumpkins at the back. Heading into the front door was Dumbledoor, Fudge, and an executioner.

Amora grimaced, realising what was about to happen. Her heart sank in her chest and she forced herself to turn away from the scene. Memories of her last Care of Magical Creatures lesson with Hagrid came flooding back, remembering how he had introduced them to the hippogriff so eagerly. Everything had been going so fine until Draco had scared the poor thing-- resulting in him getting his arm hurt. 

Poor Buckbeak.

The brunette realised that she had been thinking about it for a couple of minutes, standing in the middle of the Stone Circle completely zoned out. She blinked just as she heard the sounds of footsteps and short pants heading towards her. The Golden Trio were coming up the hill as fast as they could, Hermione's brown eyes enlarging at the sight of Amora.

"Oh, Amora!" The young witch greeted breathlessly, throwing her arms around the slightly shorter girl's neck for a brief hug. "You shouldn't look. They're about to execute Buckbeak."

Amora returned the hug only for a second before she pulled away. "I know, I know," she breathed. "You shouldn't watch, either."

Just as their words were exchanged, the sound of a blade ripping through skin and bones filled the air. Ron and Harry, who had been watching, both immediately recoiled from the sight, quick enough to catch Hermione burying her face into Amora's neck. Amora hugged Hermione harder, sharing a saddened look with the two Gryffindor boys.

"Hermione..." Ron muttered before he was wrapping his arms around her from behind.

Hermione shifted to face the ginger boy and Harry joined. Amora watched the trio as she brushed some tears away from under her eyes, not daring to look over at what was probably left of Buckbeak. Her grip tightened on her book and she was about to bid them all a farewell when she heard a sudden gasp emit from Ron's lips. The rat that he had been holding in his hand fell onto the grass and darted away.

"He bit me," Ron breathed in disbelief, holding his bleeding finger. "Scabbers."

"Ron..." Hermione warned as he took off after it, back down the hill. "Ron!"

Harry called his name also, the two trying to follow behind as quick as they could. Whilst Amora had made it clear to Ron on a couple of occasions how she didn't really like his rat, despite loving all animals, she sighed and followed, knowing she'd feel guilty if something happened to Ron's beloved pet and she didn't at least try and help.

"Oh gosh..." The book slipped from her hand when she saw Harry and Hermione being thrown around by the Whomping Willow tree, and with no Ron in sight. "I- I'll get help!"

Hermione's terrified scream pierced through the air and caused the Hufflepuff girl to wince. She started to scramble away just as she watched Harry get thrown into the hole in the tree, Hermione quickly following. The eerie silence made her pause in her tracks, brown eyes wide as she straightened up, panting.

"Hermione?" She called wearily, daring to take a step closer. "Harry? Ron?"

Her over caring nature pushed her a few steps too far, and Amora found herself paralysed by fear when the branches started to move again. She thought she had been far enough away to try and call out to her fellow Hogwarts students, but the branches appeared to extend and stretch out, wrapping around Amora and tugging her closer.

"Help!" Amora screamed, clawing at the dirt on the ground beneath her.

It seeped into her nails and dirtied the black and yellow jumper that she wore, but was no help in keeping her safe from the large tree. The Whomping Willow threw her into the air, her scream echoing loudly as another branch caught her. It seemed to play with her for a second or two before she was suddenly being thrown to the ground.

A sickening crack filled the silence and Amora's eyes quickly drifted shut as she felt a sharp pain and then nothing.

Amora woke to her body swaying in large arms, her brown eyes groggily recognising the halls of Hogwarts. For a split second she forgot all about the incident with the Whomping Willow, but everything came flooding back to her when an excruciating pain split straight through her right arm. She whimpered and threw her head back, alerting the person carrying her of her consciousness.

"Amora Buckley!" It was Hagrid hurrying her through the halls, ignoring the strange looks of other curious students wondering what had happened. "Welcome back. Doin' a lot better than Malfoy was when Buckbeak scratched 'im. 'N that looks like a nasty break you 'ave there!"

The brunette girl simply groaned, closing her eyes and wishing she could just pass out again-- anything to avoid the excruciating pain shooting through her wrist and up her arm. It was even making her shoulder hurt, and with that, her entire back. Hagrid tightened his grip on her as he used his body to push open the door to the Hospital Wing.

Heels pitter pattered towards them and Amora blinked her eyes open, seeing Madam Pomfrey there. The old woman was glancing between Hagrid and Amora, a worried expression written across her face.

"Oh my!" She followed Hagrid as he placed her down on one of the many hospital beds. "What happened to her, Hagrid?"

"'M afriad it was the Whomping Willow, Madam Pomfrey. Must've got too close," Hagrid insisted. "Found poor Amora lyin' there."

"Right," Madam Pomfrey breathed. "Thank you for taking her here, Hagrid. You can leave now."

"Course," the large man grunted, sending a nod towards Amora. "Get well soon, kiddo."

Amora couldn't even thank Hagrid herself. She felt as though if she were to open her mouth then she would throw up. Her head pressed to the pillows behind her and she squeezed her eyes shut, blocking out the cry of pain that she so desperately wanted to release.

"What happened?" Draco's voice seemed to drill through Amora's head from where she could feel Madam Pomfrey touching her arm.

"Mr Malfoy, I told you that you could leave over an hour ago!" Madam Pomfrey scolded. "Miss Buckley's arm is none of your concern. Your nose is healed, you may leave the Hospital Wing now."

"Ow, ow, ow!" Amora cried before Draco could cut in some sort of witty remark.

The blond's silver eyes trailed to her arm and they widened. Her arm certainly was broken-- it looked slightly disfigured and there was already so much bruising, especially around her wrist. Sweat clung to Amora's skin which had paled significantly-- enough to make a Malfoy jealous. He found himself actually feeling bad for the girl who he had a distaste for.

"Miss Buckley, I need you to keep still so I can do the spell correctly," the woman warned lightly.

"It bloody hurts!" Amora cried back, tears brimming her eyes and she suddenly began to sob as if saying the words out loud had made it more real. "Draco, just go away if you're going to stand and laugh."

Draco's face screwed up. "I wasn't laughing!" He protested, offended by the accusation thrown his way. "It looks like it hurts."

"Mr Malfoy, if you insist on not leaving then would you make yourself useful and keep Miss Buckley still? Perhaps give her your hand to squeeze," Madam Pomfrey huffed, still trying to get the young girl to calm down.

Draco was about to turn on his heels and leave until he saw the way Amora's reddened cheeks were glistening with tears. The empathetic side he held deep inside him knew he would hope somebody would be there to hold his hand in a situation like this.

Amora, who had been blinded by her own pain, was slightly confused when she felt a cold hand slip over the one gripping the sheets beneath her. She gasped through her heaving breaths, staring widely as Draco's slender fingers intertwined with hers and pulled her dainty hand away from the bed. He grabbed her hand and gave it a small squeeze, sending the brunette girl a tiny nod when she looked up at him.

Madam Pomfrey took Amora's moment of distraction to cast the correct spell, watching as Amora squeezed Draco's hand tight. The blond boy swallowed as the pain washed from Amora's face and she was panting yet relaxed against the pillow beneath her. Her hand slowly slid from his, and she took her warmth with it. Draco awkwardly cleared his throat and took a step back, silver eyes flickering to her arm which had mended wonderfully.

The woman cast another spell and Amora's arm was being bandaged up, a splint and a sling wrapping around the exhausted girl. Draco's heart stopped pounding, and only then did he realise how hard it had been.

"Rest now, Miss Buckley," Madam Pomfrey instructed as she started to walk away.

"What happened to you?" Draco was already back to his usual judgemental tone, folding his arms across his chest. "You were fine half an hour ago."

"Whomping Willow."

"What idiot is stupid enough to get close to a Whomping Willow?" The Malfoy boy scoffed, shaking his head slowly. "Oh, right. A Hufflepuff."

Amora glared slightly. "Hey... my stupidity has nothing to do with me being a Huffelpuff." Her comeback was extremely backhanded, making Draco actually snort. "If you must know, I was trying to help someone. Oh gosh! I left my book there."

Draco squinted his eyes, putting one and two together. "Potter?"

Amora nodded casually. "Yes. Do you think Madam Pomfey will let me leave before curfew? I need that book. I'm on the last few chapters."

"Where is Potter?" Draco huffed. "He certainly didn't bother bringing you back himself, did he? Of course the egotistical bastard would just leave you there."

Suddenly, Amora was frowning at the idea. An unwelcome sense of sadness seeped into her skin, poisoned her blood and wrapped around her heart, making her entire body feel heavy. She sagged against the bed even further, blinking at the realisation.

"I'm sure he had his reasonings," Amora excused her friends quietly.

"Oh, of course," Draco continued with a scoff, not recognising the hurt on her face. "Higher priorities than a dying classmate, I'm sure."

"Why do you care?" The Hufflepuff finally had enough, wanting the blond to stop talking. "You hate Harry and you hate me. Just leave it alone, Draco."

"I was just saying," Draco muttered sourly as he started to walk away. "This is why you will always be the one getting hurt, Amora. If you let people like Potter take advantage of the... kindness that you seem to have."

Amora swallowed thickly. Before Draco could open the door and leave, she called out, "And that's why you'll always be hanging around the wing even after you've been let out, Draco. Because your bitterness will leave you lonely."

It seemed they both had some things that they could teach each other, but Draco had no intentions of learning. Instead, he swung the heavy door open and slammed it right behind him, ironically leaving Amora all by herself.

However, despite their last few words exchanged to each other not being too pleasant at all, when Amora woke the next morning in her hospital bed, she found the book she'd mentioned to Draco sat on her bedside table, slightly dirtied. It looked like the person had tried to wipe it off considering the finger prints on the cover, and Amora had reason to believe that it wasn't Hagrid who had returned it, nor any member from the Golden Trio.

It had been Draco. 

D.M + A.B

"Hermione," Amora called, chasing the brunette girl down the stairs where she stood with Ron. "Hi, you two."

"Hi, Amora," they both chorused back. "How are you?" Hermione asked. "We haven't spoken since the train ride over. Everything's just been a little... hectic."

"I know," Amora sighed as they started to walk to their next class. "I'm absolutely knackered and we haven't even gotten through a full week yet. Merlin knows how I'll make it through this term."

Ron nodded in agreement. "Everyone keeps banging on about the Goblet of Fire. Fred and George are pissed about it... I think they've been planning on using some sort of ageing potion to put their names in."

Hermione scoffed. "Of course they are! Do they realise how absolutely ridiculous that sounds?"

Amora shrugged. "I don't know... If it works then I'll consider them pretty smart."

"It won't work," the Granger girl insisted. "Professor Dumbledore isn't stupid, Amora. He would have definitely thought that through already. What are you reading?"

"Oh." Amora flipped the book in her hand. "That Muggle book you lent me over summer. I'm on the last chapter."

Ron's face screwed up when he saw the title. "A romance novel?" He scoffed. "You two are strange, you are."

Hermione rolled her eyes and lightly whacked him. "Believe it or not, Ron, but some people like to read genres other than Quidditch and The Tales of Beedle the Bard."

"Well, I don't want to read about people snogging either!"

Amora giggled. "Rather do the snogging in real life, huh, Ron?" She teased.

Ron glared slightly. "Let's just get to class," he grumbled.


	5. Chapter 5

Amora had spent the entire night reading, eventually passing out from exhaustion at around four in the morning. She'd used her wand as a light beneath her duvet covers, the only sound being her soft breathing as well as the snores from the other Hufflepuff girls in her dormitory. Susan Bones was a particularly loud snorer which sometimes annoyed Amora, but when she really got stuck into her book, she barely noticed it.

She was faintly aware of shuffling around at half past seven in the morning, but Amora was so out of it that when one of the girls tried to prod her awake at eight she just groaned and rolled back over.

"Amora, if you lose points for Hufflepuff, we won't be pleased," Hannah Abbott tried to coax her out of her yellow cocoon.

The blonde haired girl sighed when a muffled 'humpf' came from Amora. Her deep blue eyes quickly cast to the book left half-open on the floor beside Amora's bed and she unfolded her arms across her robe-clad chest, shaking her head and swiping it off of the floor.

"For goodness sake, Amora," Hannah huffed. "Reading at night will only strain your poor eyes."

Amora slowly peeked from the covers and reached out, gently taking the book from Hannah's hands. She put it on the bedside table beside her and sat up, revealing her bird's nest head of hair the dark circles beneath her eyes. She looked a little paler than usual too.

"Do you feel okay?" Hannah stressed. "You look a little ill."

"I'm fine," Amora promised, stifling a yawn. "Gosh, I'm going to need some coffee this morning or something."

"Guys!" Susan snapped from the doorway. "Hurry up."

The other two Hufflepuff girls had already left to go down to breakfast, their beds made and their pyjamas folded neatly at the ends. Hannah sent Amora a concerned look, but Amora dismissed the blonde girl with a small smile and a wave of the hand.

"Go, honestly. I'll get ready and I won't be late to class, I promise," Amora started to climb out of her bed. "No points taken away from Hufflepuff today."

"Hannah!" Susan called again.

Hannah shot her a small look. "I'm coming. Hold your horses, Susan." She turned back to Amora. "I'll save you a seat."

Amora thanked her, although she was unsure if she would even make it to breakfast on time or not. As soon as the door closed behind Hannah and Susan, she started to scramble around the room in search for her uniform. She found her robe draped over her bedpost and her shoes tucked underneath the bed, but her skirt, shirt, and tie were nowhere to be seen.

"Oh gosh," Amora grumbled.

She spent about five whole minutes hunting for her uniform. For the life of her she couldn't remember where she'd put them before she fell asleep last night, but eventually she found her skirt mixed in with her duvet, and her shirt was on the trunk sitting at the end of her bed.

"Tie, tie, tie..." She kept repeating, well aware that the bell for the first period was about to go off any minute now.

Amora closed her eyes as she silently tried to retrace her steps, tapping her shoes on the floor. She remembered studying in the common room with Leon last night and figured it must be down there. After all, she hated wearing her tie whenever it wasn't necessary. Not only that, but after seeing the Beauxbatons' uniform the other day, Amora hadn't stopped thinking about how much better school would be if hers wasn't so... bland in comparison.

She grabbed her bag and shoved her Defense of the Dark Arts book inside and darted down the stairs to the common room. Amora rushed to the couches in the centre of the room and pulled out the cushion of the yellow armchair she'd been sitting in last night. There sat her gold and black tie-- a little crumpled, but there nevertheless.

Unfortunately Defense Against the Dark Arts was nearly on the other side of the school, so she cursed when she heard the first warning bell ring, picking up her speed. She wished she could just Apparate to class, but Amora was too young and she obviously didn't have a license.

Eventually, though, Amora made it to her first lesson just on time. She was slightly red in the cheeks and her breaths were quite uneven, but she'd kept her promise to Hannah Abbott-- there would be no points taken from Hufflepuff today due to her tardiness.

Amora stood in the doorway, her face dropping when she realised that the class was practically filled. Leon was sitting next to Hermione and he shot her a look as if to apologise. A booming voice came from behind her.

"Seats," Alastor Moody called.

Amora nearly jumped out of her skin, her honey eyes enlarging as she took off in a hunt for a seat that wasn't taken. She nearly groaned out loud when she realised there were two seats left: one next to Manny Arnold, a boy notoriously known for his bad odour, and another beside Draco Malfoy, her worst enemy, of course.

Draco smirked as he followed her line of vision, knowing exactly what path she was being forced to take. He sat back in his seat, icy hair flopping a little as he turned to face Crabbe and Goyle sat in the seats behind him, chuckling. His two minions grinned mischievously back, almost like the three bullies were predators who had food walking straight towards them.

Amora sighed and headed to sit beside Draco, tossing her bag onto the floor and pulling out all of the stuff that she needed, placing it in front of her. She could still hear Crabbe and Goyle's snickers.

"What the matter with you two?" Amora curled her top lip a little as she swivelled around in her seat, narrowing her eyes at the pair of goons.

Normally she had a lot of patience, but not for Draco or any of his friends. Amora liked Slytherins-- most of them, anyway-- it was just Draco.

"Matter, Amora," Draco corrected her. "Not ma-er. You sound so common."

Amora was genuinely offended, but she knew that over the years her pronunciations had become a lot more relaxed. She didn't feel the same need to keep up with Hermione's upper-class accent like she did in her first year. Her southern accent was in no way considered lower-class, but she did let it slip when she was around people her age. Although, she would never dare to pronounce water as 'wa-er' in front of one of her Professors-- no doubt would she be scolded.

She rolled her eyes at Draco anyway. "Whatever, Draco. At least I don't sound like I crawled out Queen Elizabeth's--"

"Is that a Hufflepuff trying to insult me?" Draco cut her off, sneering down at her. He looked to Crabbe and Goyle as if she wasn't even there. "Imagine being in Hufflepuff!" He laughed. "I'd leave, wouldn't you?"

His two friends laughed in agreement, the three of them shutting up the brunette girl who huffed and sank lower in her seat. She glanced over to Leon on the other side of the classroom. He looked like he wanted to help, but before he could do anything, the man at the front of the room began to talk.

"Alastor Moody," their brand new professor introduced himself. "Ex-Auror, Ministry malcontent, and your new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. I am here because Dumbledore asked me. End of story, goodbye, the end. Any questions?"

Professor Moody's tone silently suggested not to ask any questions. His one electric blue eye enlarged by the strap around his head seemed to stare at every student individually, making Amora instantly feel self conscious. If his growling Scottish accent wasn't intimidating enough, then his appearance sure as hell was. It was obvious his days as an Auror had left an impression on him.

"When it comes to the Dark Arts..." He continued. "I believe in a practical approach. But first, which of you can tell me how many Unforgivable Curses there are?"

"Three, sir," Hermione called out somewhat nervously.

"And they are so named?" Professor Moody moved to the chalkboard behind him and started to write.

"Because they are unforgivable. The use of any one of them will--"

"Earn you a one way ticket to Azkaban," he cut her off gruffly. "Correct."

The rest of the class was dead silent, all staring at him in a mixture of what appeared to be fear and curiosity.

"Now, the Ministry says you're too young to see what these curses do. I say different!" His booming voice made a few people in the front row visibly jump, including Harry and Ron. "You need to know what you're up against, you need to be prepared, you need to find another place to put your chewing gum beside the underside of your desk, Mister Finnigan."

Amora's brown eyes widened as she turned in her seat to face the back of the classroom where she had seen Seamus Finnigan sat before. She wondered how Professor Moody could have possibly seen him placing his chewing gum on the school furniture when he'd had his back to them all.

"Awh, no way," Seamus breathed in disappointment. "The old codger can see out the back of his head."

Amora's tiny breathy laugh was cut off by a gasp when Moody whirled around at the speed of lightning, furiously throwing the piece of chalk in his hand all the way across the room at Seamus. People around him ducked out of the way, looking at their new teacher incredulously as he growled.

"And hear across classrooms!" He bellowed, and even Draco was watching him in astonishment as he started to march closer to the front. "So... Which curse shall we see first? Weasley!"

Ron squeaked, "Yes?"

"Stand."

The red-haired boy visibly gulped as Amora watched from the back of him as he slowly stood, only the wooden desk separating him and their less-than-sane Dark Arts teacher.

"Give us a curse," Moody commanded.

"Well..." Ron said nervously. "My d- My dad did tell me about one. The Imperius Curse..."

Moody nodded. "Mm. Your father would know all about that. Gave the Ministry quite a bit of grief a few years ago. Perhaps this will show you why."

Amora grimaced as Moody marched back down the aisle to the front of the classroom. He pulled open one of the many jars filled with insects and other creepy crawlies, reaching in and pulling out what she assumed was a spider. She was tense in her seat, just like all of her other classmates.

He pulled out his wand. "Engorgio."

Everybody watched the spider grow larger and larger, so big that if Amora was to hold it then she would need to use both of her hands. She sat back in her seat, desperately wishing that she was not in the classroom with that thing. Spiders weren't a massive fear of hers, but when they were that huge, you'd be insane not to find them scary.

"Imperio!" He cast the spell and the spider was then floating around the room, landing on the desk of Neville Longbottom and Dean Thomas.

Much to Amora's dismay, it started to head towards them, a small gasp ripping past her lips when it flew straight past her head and landed on Crabbe's chubby face. It crawled to the top of his head where it settled on top for a few seconds, making Crabbe whimper and clutch the sides of his skull.

People were laughing as it darted around and landed on their friends, peers, and enemies— all except Amora and a few others. Truthfully, she didn't really feel bad for the spider who was being forced to commit acts against its own will, but she was terrified of bad karma. If she laughed she would be next, she knew it.

It moved from Crabbe to the girl in front of Amora, then all the way to above Ron's head. The laugher was only increasing as Moody controlled its actions with the flick of his wand.

"If she bites..." He hovered it on top of the ginger's head. "She's lethal!" He laughed and made it drop.

Ron's whimpers of fear were nearly louder than the laughter and Amora felt her heart swell with guilt, fully aware of Ron's intense arachnophobia. If she was a little braver she might have called Moody to stop with his cruel teachings, but Amora sank back in her seat silently, a frown on her face. She thought maybe if she was small and quiet she would blend in and Moody would go straight past her.

Draco's laughter was so loud from beside her that Amora turned to glare at him a little. "It's not funny..." She mumbled sadly.

The icy-haired boy snickered. "Of course it's funny! Weasley's acting like a complete baby--"

"What are you laughing at?"

Draco's laughter was cut off when Moody decided that it was his turn. Amora was horrified when the spider clung to Draco's face, its legs wrapping around his pale skin as it slowly crept its way up. His large hands reached out and grabbed Amora. They were as cold as ice, his fingers gripping the sides of her hands and her wrists.

"Get it off me!" He pleaded. "Amora!"

Amora felt like she could cry, the laughter in the room echoing in her pounding head. She wished she could help Draco but she daren't touch the thing. She let him squeeze her hand for a second more until Moody lifted it from his head.

Draco snatched his hand away and sent her a glare like it had been her fault. It reminded her of when she'd been struck by the Whomping Willow last year and he'd momentarily let her squeeze his hand, although the memory had managed to fade with time since she tried to block the physically painful memory out.

"Talented, isn't she?" The Professor laughed. "What shall I have her do now? Jump out the window?"

The laughter stopped when the spider smacked into the window across the room, its legs curling up a little.

"Drown herself?"

He made the spider head for the bucket of water beneath the window, its legs scraping the surface as it tried to persist. The class was now silent and Amora assumed everybody else was starting to feel guilty now that they realised the true horrors of the Imperius Curse.

He brought the spider back to his hand. "Scores of wizards and witches have claimed that they only did You-Know-Who's bidding under the influence of the Imperius Curse, but here's the rub. How do we sort out the liars? Another, another."

More than half the class raised their hands to give yet another Unforgivable Curse. Amora simply blinked at the front of the room. Sure, it was interesting, but she felt no need to participate in harming the spider.

"Longbottom, is it? Up." Moody gestured to Neville in the front row who stood wearily. "Professor Sprout tells me you have an aptitude for Herbology."

Neville nodded anxiously. "Th- Th- There's the, um, the cruciatus curse."

"Correct! Correct!" Professor Moody exclaimed as if the Gryffindor boy had won a prize. "Come, come."

Moody led Amora's first ever friend at Hogwarts towards the table at the front of the room where the spider sat on top of a magnifying glass. She could barely see from her seat in the middle of the classroom, but as Moody yelled 'crucio' and pointed his wand at the creature, she guessed she didn't want to.

Its high pitched squeals filled her ears and made her heart lurch, especially when she saw the devastated look on Neville's face. He looked like he was trying not to cry, constantly daring himself not to look away and upset their new, and very terrifying, teacher.

"Stop it!" Hermione voiced Amora's thoughts. "Can't you see it's bothering him? Stop it!"

For a few seconds, Moody acted like he hadn't even heard Hermione's furious yells, but then he lowered his wand, leaving Neville practically trembling at the head of the classroom. Moody lifted the spider up as he cleared his throat, heading over to stand in front of Hermione. He placed it on her book, its squeaking the only thing to be heard in the tense silence of the room.

"Perhaps you could give us the last Unforgivable Curse, Miss Granger?" Moody offered, but the Gryffindor girl shook her head, trying not to cry.

"No?" He hummed and then struck his wand at the creature. "Avada Kedavra!"

Amora pursed her lips as the spider disintegrated over Hermione's textbook. Hermione was looking away, clearly disgusted with Professor Moody and his practical teaching methods.

"The Killing Curse. Only one person is known to have survived it," Moody explained. "And he's sitting in this room."

He walked to Harry and loomed over him. Harry dared to look Moody straight in the eyes. He was probably the first student to do so without trembling in his seat. Amora furrowed her brows as Moody took a flask out of his pocket and began to take large gulps from it right there and then. 

D.M + A.B

Amora tried to go after Neville once the class had eventually come to an end, but he was already off without saying goodbye to anybody. She sighed in defeat as she watched his robes fly behind him. Whilst they didn't talk as much as they perhaps did in their first year or two, Amora and Neville shared a pure friendship-- one where they could just sit beside each other and feel calm without saying anything.

"That was absolutely vile," Amora grimaced as she walked over to Leon's desk.

Hermione, Ron, and Harry had already rushed out of the classroom too. By now, there were only a few people loitering around, terrified to be in the eye range of Moody. Amora herself wanted to get going as quick as possible, which was why she picked up Leon's parchment for him and shoved it in his back herself.

"It was," Leon agreed softly. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Amora shook her head. "I was just worried about Hermione and Neville. Poor thing looked like he was about to cry."

"Maybe he should learn to toughen up a little, then," Draco retorted as he walked by them.

Amora rolled her eyes. "Nobody infuriates me like Draco does, Leon," the Hufflepuff practically growled, glaring after his laughing figure as he shoved Goyle a few feet away from him. "I swear, sometimes I feel like I could commit one of the Unforgivable Curses on him."

"Don't do that," Leon hummed as they started to leave the room side by side.

"Why not?" Amora questioned. "I'm sure half the students at Hogwarts would thank me for it."

"Because then you'd get sent to Azkaban and I wouldn't have a best friend anymore," Leon joked and Amora chuckled, shaking her head.

"I was joking, anyway," the brunette girl sighed softly. "Although I do hope he loses his wand or something tomorrow. Something to ruin his day."

"Oh, you're so evil, you are, Amora," Leon mocked, nudging her with his elbow. "It's a wonder they never put you in Slytherin."


	6. Chapter 6

The Goblet of Fire stood in the middle of an Age Line, its blue flame weaving in the air and daring anybody over the age of seventeen to come forth and put their name in it. Some students sat around on the benches waiting to see who was brave enough, including Amora and Hermione who sat with their homework on their laps, their heads down.

"You're a lifesaver, honestly," Amora mumbled, her quill scribbling furiously as she tried to get down the right ingredients for her Potions class. "I don't know where I'd be without you, Hermione."

"You and those two idiots over there," Hermione chuckled, nodding her head in the direction of Harry and Ron who stood gawking at the Goblet. "I don't quite understand why everybody's so fussed about Eternal Glory. As if there aren't other ways to be successful."

Leon snorted as he planted himself down behind them on the benches. "It's Eternal Glory, Hermione. Are you mad?"

Hermione rolled her chestnut eyes with a small smile. "Perhaps I am then."

Amora just finished writing in the last part of her notes when she heard familiar laughter, followed by the quick pitter patter of several pairs of feet. Her brown eyes flickered towards a group of older Hufflepuff boys, her cousin in the middle of them as they all patted his shoulder, pushing him closer and closer towards the Goblet.

"Go on, Cedric," one of them said, shoving him past the age line. "Put it in!"

Amora chewed on her bottom lip, an anxious frown on her face as she watched her older cousin hesitate for a second. Cedric glanced between his friends before he looked over at her, almost like he could feel her gaze on his back. The small brunette sent a nod in his direction, and it was all the confirmation he needed before he was placing his name into the Goblet of Fire.

Amora sighed but clapped along with everybody else, watching with amusement as Ron tried to wave at Cedric, a shy smile on his face.

"Lighten up, Amora," Leon leaned down to squeeze her shoulder. "Cedric's fine."

"Amora has every right to be concerned," Hermione interjected matter-of-factly. "The tournaments can be very dangerous, Leon."

The shortest girl looked like she had gone a few shades paler, causing her best friend to hiss Hermione's name and jerk his head in the direction of Amora. Hermione's eyes softened and she began to stammer, feeling bad.

"But that's if he even gets chosen, of course," she tried to remind Amora. "Boys and girls have been coming in and out of this room all day, Amora. Cedric may not even be chosen."

Amora remained quiet, her eyes drifting across the hall for a distraction. They landed on Draco sitting with his Slytherin friends on some of the benches, the group of them all laughing with one another. His ice hair stuck out like a sore thumb, which sometimes Amora was grateful for. If she saw him heading down the same hall as her and she didn't want to deal with his crude remarks that day, it was so easy to spot him and turn in the other direction.

Suddenly, boyish roars came from outside the room and in came Fred and George. The pair were laughing and waving something in their hands. When Amora squinted she assumed it was a potion, most likely the aging one she'd been talking about with Ron and Hermione a couple of days ago.

"Yes!" They cheered, followed by other students.

Even the Buckley girl forgot about the predicament her cousin may have stumbled into, a fond smile crossing her face as she watched the two identical twins prance around the room like some sort of school mascots. They high-fived everybody on their way towards Hermione, Amora, and Leon.

"Well, lads, we did it!" George exclaimed.

"Cooked it up just this morning," Fred added just as eagerly.

"It's not going to work," Hermione grinned in a sort of sing-song tone, shaking her head.

Fred and George both turned to her at this. "Oh yeah?" Fred hummed defensively. "And why's that, Granger?"

They both appeared on either side of the small group, Fred's face dangerously close to Amora's. She nearly gasped in shock, leaning back a little so Hermione could see him properly.

"You see this?" The young witch pointed to the circle around the Goblet of Fire. "This is an Age Line. Dumbledore drew it himself."

"So?"

Hermione scoffed. "So a genius like Dumbledore couldn't possibly be fooled by something pathetically dimwitted such as a potion."

"Ah, but that's why it's so brilliant," George interjected.

"'Cos it's so pathetically dim-witted!" Fred added, the two of them snickering to each other.

Amora sighed with a small smile as they stood up on the benches and started to shake the vials in their hands. She really did like the Weasley twins-- they were always so funny, even if their humour more often than not landed them in trouble. Amora also found Ron quite funny too, although he often made her laugh without even trying. He just seemed to have this natural dorkiness to him. Sometimes she wondered why Ron hadn't been sorted into Hufflepuff-- it seemed like he would have fit in well.

"Ready Fred?"

"Ready, George."

"Bottoms up," they both muttered at the same time before intertwining their arms and drinking their own aging potions.

"Oh dear..." Amora mumbled to herself, knowing that Hermione was most likely right, as always, and this couldn't end how the poor twins were hoping so desperately it would.

To be perfectly honest, the brunette couldn't quite imagine either of them taking part in the Triwizard Tournament anyway. From what her mother had told her before, it sounded terrifying, and she wasn't sure Fred or George were really up for it. That and she couldn't imagine one of them doing it and not the other. They were always together and most of the time Amora had to admit that she couldn't tell them apart.

There was a tense silence as the twins swallowed the liquid and waited a second before jumping into the circle. Cheers echoed throughout the room and Amora started to grin, sitting up eagerly as they pranced around the middle of the circle, flaunting their success and shooting Hermione a small look.

"Looks like it worked," Leon hummed.

Then, Fred and George lifted the slips with their names written on them and placed them in the Goblet of Fire. People cheered for them, however, the celebration was cut short when the blue flames began to shoot out the top, rapidly flying around the room and dodging gasping students until it hit the two of them and sent them flying through the air.

"Maybe not..." Leon whispered.

Horrified, the smile was wiped off of Amora's face as she stood up to see the twins barely recovering on the floor about twenty feet away. Everybody started to laugh as they sat up, revealing white hair and matching beards.

"You said..."

"You said!"

One jumped on top of the other and they began to roll around on the floor, tackling each other. Amora allowed a laugh to escape her lips as she bounded over to get to the front of the circle forming around them, standing right next to Harry and Ron who were also howling with laughter.

"Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!" Everybody was chanting and clapping their hands together, eager to see some real action occur, however, it appeared as if the twins didn't even really want to hurt each other-- they were just throwing each other about and hissing words of anger.

Amora's hand muffled her own laughs as she looked around at all her classmates, finding them just as entertained as her. Then, her brown eyes landed on Draco who was sitting with his Slytherin gang across the room. He didn't look amused at all, in fact, he looked rather disgusted by the whole ordeal. Everybody knew how much Draco detested Hogwarts, mainly because they allowed Muggle-borns.

Draco caught her eye and sent her a sneering look that managed to wipe the smile off of Amora's face automatically. Her hands stopped clapping together and she felt somewhat stupid for participating, like she was childish or something.

People around her stopped cheering and laughing also, and that's when she noticed Viktor Krum marching his way through the large doors, a melancholy look upon his chiseled face. His eyes remained locked on the Goblet of Fire and he didn't acknowledge any of the British teenagers standing around watching him in a mixture of amazement and curiosity.

Hogwarts students backed away from the Goblet despite being nowhere near Viktor, as if letting him have his moment. It was a big deal that 'the Qudditch God' as Ron liked to call him was even in their school, let alone that one of them would be lucky, or perhaps unlucky, enough to go up against him in the Triwizard Tournaments. 

D.M + A.B

"Mother!"

Professor Buckley turned swiftly at the call of her title, a small smile crossing her aging features when she noticed her daughter rushing through the crowds of students to get over to her. Amora's dark hair swished behind her as well as her dark robes, her beaming smile shining amongst all of the gloomy faces.

"Amora, I am on my way to teach a lesson. Can we not talk at dinner?" Professor Buckley questioned softly as she started to walk towards her classroom.

"I didn't want anything in particular, I just thought I would say 'hi',' Amora explained with a small shrug. "I have a free period now, so I'm heading to the Hufflepuff common room."

"Oh, that sounds fun," Professor Buckley spoke before noticing some second years messing around on the stairs, seemingly pretending to be dementors with their robes . "Boys, no."

"Sorry, Professor Buckley," Amora heard a weak chorus of replies back.

It was insane to Amora how different her mother's voice was to her teacher's voice. Sometimes she had to admit that it was embarrassing to have your mother work at the same school as you, but it did come in handy for times like these when she was starting to miss her cottage on the seaside.

Hogwarts was like her second home, however, nothing could beat lying in her bed, her duvet bunched all the way up to her neck and her ears straining to listen to the waves crash against the rocky shore of the beach she had grown up on. The scents of her candles at home always made her feel so comforted, especially when she propped them up all around her on her bedside table. She could read then until as late as she wanted, no roommates to snap at her to put the lights out.

Professor Buckley wasn't exactly a popular professor, either. Despite being a pure-blood herself, a lot of the pure-blooded students that held the same prejudiced ideas as their parents didn't think her subject was necessary at all. It left her mother the subject of some nasty words, but thankfully, a lot of the Hufflepuffs were more than kind to Professor Buckley, so she rarely had to hear it.

"How's Dad?" Amora asked. "I wrote to him the other day, but he hasn't written back yet."

"Oh, your father's a busy man, Amora," her mother said. "You know how he is. He barely likes to write, anyway."

Amora nodded a little. At this point she was used to hearing from her dad about three times a term, or getting information from her mother. She couldn't really bring herself to be all that bothered about it. As long as she knew he was fine then she didn't really feel the need to keep in touch so often.

"I should let you go," Amora sighed. "I have Potions homework to complete, anyway.

"Have fun," Professor Buckley absent-mindedly spoke as she turned a corner, leaving Amora stood in the middle of the bustling hallway by herself.

Suddenly, a body smacked into her from behind, sending her hurting forwards into another body. Draco turned immediately with a scowl written on his pale face when he felt the person trip into his back. From the height he'd expected maybe a second year, but he was still less than surprised to see Amora Buckley trying to regain her balance, and a sheepish looking Harry Potter grabbing her arms and apologising profusely.

"I'm so sorry!" Harry exclaimed, looking behind him and shooting daggers at Ron who was snickering behind his hand. "Ron thought it would be funny to shove me."

Amora smiled sweetly, shaking her head as Harry's hands smoothed down from her shoulders to her hands. He held them for a moment as Amora stood up straight. Her backs of her feet had come out of her polished school shoes much to her dismay and she tried to wedge them back in on the spot. She'd bought a new pair for the school year, and they still hadn't broken in properly yet.

"It's okay, Har--"

"Of course it's Potter and Buckley being idiotic in the halls," Draco snapped, folding his arms across his chest.

If there was one person that Draco seemed to dislike more than Amora, it was the Golden Trio-- particularly Harry. At first, Amora thought that Draco was angry with him for not wanting to be his friend, but as the years moved by, Draco's attacks seemed to grow more and more personal.

"Calm down, Malfoy." Harry noticed Draco's silver eyes burning into his hands which were still holding Amora's and he dropped them quickly, cursing himself when he felt his cheeks heat up. "It was my mistake."

"Harry, you speak Parseltongue, right? Could you tell Draco to piss off for me?" Amora hissed.

Harry had to try not to laugh. He rarely ever heard the petite brunette grow mad with anybody. She always carried a calming aura and a bright smile on her face, so it was strange to Harry to see his friend glaring at Draco as if he had just hit her or something.

He'd seen her angry on a couple of occasions before, but he never got used to it. The worst he'd ever seen her was when Draco had pushed him and Ron too far, and the Hufflepuff girl tackled him into the snow, shaking him by the collar of his uniform. Draco kept screaming for help, saying he couldn't push her off because she was a girl. Harry still chuckled to this day when he recalled it.

Draco's lip curled, disgusted with the way Amora had spoken to him. "Watch your tone," he growled, eyes growing darker. "Nobody talks to me like that."

He didn't wait around to hear Harry or Amora's replies. He marched down the hall towards the Slytherin common rooms, which were in the dungeons. The Hufflepuff common room was also down in the dungeons, but on nearly the other side of the school. Meanwhile, Ravenclaw and Gryffindor got the towers.

Amora was a little disheartened when she learnt this in her first year. Before she arrived at Hogwarts, she'd imagined she'd be at the top of some sort of tower and her bedroom would overlook some sort of large lake or something. Despite being at the best wizarding school in the world, she liked the view at her own home even better.

"I feel sorry for him sometimes," Amora admitted casually as his figure disappeared.

Harry went to automatically agree before he realised what she had said. The glasses clad boy shot her an incredulous look, his eyebrows pinching together in confusion. He thought Amora had hated Draco as much as he did.

"Did I just hear you right?" Harry questioned. "You feel sorry for Malfoy?"

"I don't know." Amora's cheeks heated up. "Call it Hufflepuff Hope or something, but I genuinely don't think anybody's a hundred percent bad. Not even Draco. There must be some reason he's like how he is."

Harry admired the way that she was able to feel sorry for somebody like Draco Malfoy. He was sure most people at Hogwarts hated his guts without a second thought, and despite Amora being one of his main targets, she still felt there was probably a part of him that was good.

"I guess," Harry muttered.

Amora visibly shuddered before she sent him a beaming grin. "Anyway," she adjusted the robes around her neck. "Tell Ron that I'll get him back at some point for that."

Harry grinned too. "Will do. Were you heading to your common room now?"

"Mhm," she hummed as they started to walk together, side by side. "You?"

"I was going to the library, actually... If- If you wanted to come along?"

Despite being The Chosen One, he seemed like the shyest boy in the entire school as he managed to stammer out his question. He nearly winced as soon as he said it, expecting automatic rejection from somebody as beautiful and sweet as Amora Buckley. He had to remind himself that he'd asked her to study, not to marry him-- if she said no, it wasn't the end of the world.

"Sure," she agreed, much to his delight. "Maybe you could help me with the Potions homework? Hermione tried going over it with me today, but I realised I was missing a few things. The twins distracted me with their little show."

Harry started to laugh, clapping his hands together as they changed directions to go to Hogwarts' library. "That was hilarious," he agreed.

And the pair wandered off towards the library, not noticing Draco Malfoy glaring at them from behind a pillar.


	7. Chapter 7

The tables in the Great Hall had been shifted around to make more room for the important assembly that was about to take place. It had been the talk of the school all week and everybody was dying to know whose names were going to be pulled out of the Goblet of Fire.

Amora had had a rather restless nights sleep prior to today. She tossed and turned all night long, her golden duvet ending up down by her feet one moment and then up by her neck the moment after. She even went to sit down in the common room after a few hours, staring at the fire with amber eyes and her legs curled to her chest.

The brunette was more than thankful that her friends were too young to put their names inside the Goblet and that she only had to stress over Cedric. She'd grown up best friends with her cousin. As they grew older, they drifted apart a little, the three year age gap sometimes proving differences in maturity and different interests, but they loved one another dearly.

If anybody asked Amora who her first friend was, it was Cedric Diggory. She knew on his bedside table that he had a picture of him at merely three or four with Amora sitting in his arms, only a few months old. It swelled her heart when she found out about it.

"Amora, stop biting your nails," Hermione scolded, smacking the shorter girl's hand.

Amora lowered her fingers. She hadn't even realised that she had been biting at them from where she sat at one of the tables, watching the chaos of the four houses merging and sitting wherever their hearts desired. Most of the Slytherins stuck to themselves, including Draco and his gang. He had Pansy Parkinson speaking in one of his ears, but Draco looked bored, resting his chin on his hand and staring at nothing. They were sat by the Durmstrang boys, right near the front.

"Sorry..." She apologised with a small sigh. "I didn't even know I was doing it."

"Let the girl chew her nails, Hermione," Ron sat down behind them on a bench a little higher up, Leon and Neville on the other side. "It's either that or she makes those knots in the ends of her hair."

Amora turned and sent the ginger boy a small glare. "I don't do that anymore," she huffed. "I stopped over the summer."

"I can tell," Hermione beamed, reaching a hand out and holding the ends of Amora's dark locks. "It looks so healthy."

One thing Amora always did absentmindedly was fiddle with the ends of her hair, except when she was nervous, she would sort of mat it together by rubbing a small lock between her fingers, and then she'd run her fingers through the small knot as if to soothe her. She always kept her hair in plaits to try and stop her from doing it, but over the summer she'd worked on her bad habit, and thus her beautiful hair was down and ready to be admired by... Well, probably just Hermione, really.

"Thanks, Hermione," Amora smiled back.

"What about mine?" Leon teased, poking his head through the two girls' shoulders.

"You need a haircut," Amora reached out and ruffled her hand through his dirty blond hair.

Hermione giggled. "Honestly. You're starting to look like the twins."

"Hey," George turned around from the bench in front of them to glare and then turned back around, self consciously running a large hand through his ginger hair which had grown to nearly his shoulders. 

"Sit down, please," Professor Dumbledore suddenly called from in between the four tables, and sure enough everybody listened to him, the Great Hall falling silent. "And now the moment you've all been waiting for... The Champion Selection."

He threw his hand out and the candles around the room started to dim, plunging the room in nearly total darkness aside from the Goblet at the front of the room. Its blue flames illuminated the faces of students in every year the same blue colour, burning in their eyes.

Dumbledore touched the cup with both hands before he backed away and waited for a few seconds as the flame burst into a pink colour. A note came flying out of it and swam its way into Dumbledore's clutch. Amora felt her heart start to race and her breath hitch, wondering who could possibly be the first picked.

"The Durmstrang champion is Viktor Krum," Dumbledore called, a chorus of masculine cheers following, Krum's schoolmates all grabbing him by the shoulder and roaring their approval.

Everybody else applauded for him too, until the flame turned its pinky-red colour once more and another name was spat out of the Goblet. Again, it flew into Dumbledore's fingers.

"The champion from Beauxbatons..." He turned it around. "Is Fleur Delacour."

More applause rang and Amora clapped along, but now all she could think about was that Hogwarts was next, and she prayed that Cedric's name wasn't written on that piece of paper. When the Goblet spat out the third and final name, tension filled the room. Everybody wanted to know who would be representing their school.

"The Hogwarts champion, Cedric Diggory!"

Amora felt as if her life had flashed before her eyes and felt like she had jinxed it as she watched her grinning cousin step up to go and shake their headmaster's hands. The Great Hall was the loudest it had been so far, especially from the Hufflepuffs who were glad to finally have something interesting happen to their house for once.

Amora clapped for the last few seconds when she had finally processed that she wasn't dreaming, but it didn't stop the small frown written across her delicate features. She would worry about her cousin, but when everybody else was so happy for him, it was hard not to be supportive herself. It did make her smile slightly to see everybody appreciating Cedric anyway.

"Excellent!" Dumbledore called above the cheers and whistles. "We now have our three champions. But in the end, only one will go down in history. Only one will hoist this chalice of champions, this vessel of victory, the Triwizard Cup!"

He turned quickly and pointed his finger at an object covered by a sheet, the sheet immediately soaring into the air and revealing a grand cup that glistened blue in the light. However, the applause was cut short when the Goblet started to light up again, its flames reaching higher and higher until they burst pink.

Another name shot out of the cup, much to everybody's confusion.

"What in the world..." Amora sat forwards as she watched Dumbledore peel open the slip.

"Harry Potter..." He muttered in disbelief. "Harry Potter?" He called, and everybody's eyes started darting around for the boy who already had enough popularity to last him a lifetime.

Amora frowned down at Harry who sat in front of her next to Seamus Finnigan, wondering when and how the hell he'd even managed to get his name in the Goblet when the twins couldn't. She quickly realised that something was wrong when she saw the fear-stricken look on Harry's face. He'd gone paler than a ghost.

She reached forward and placed her hand on his shoulder as Dumbledore roared his name again in anger.

"Harry," she whispered, silently letting him know he should face their furious headmaster.

"Harry, for goodness sake," Hermione muttered and hauled him to his feet.

Harry started to slowly take steps towards Professor Dumbledore. The silence of the room made Amora feel immensely bad for Harry. She couldn't imagine how much she would be panicking right now if she was put in his shoes. Just the afternoon before he'd been telling her how he'd had enough adventures at Hogwarts to last a lifetime and he'd rather not put his name forward in three years when he was finally old enough.

Dumbledore handed him the slip with his name on it but didn't shake his hand like he did with the three other champions. Harry watched him cautiously, edging back to his seat and trying to ignore all of the glares and curious looks he was receiving.

"He's a cheat!" Somebody called.

"He's not even seventeen yet."

Poor Harry.

D.M + A.B

When the rain lashed down later that evening, it felt like some cruel pathetic fallacy to how Amora was feeling. Not only was Cedric a Triwizard champion, but it looked like Harry was going to be one, too. That was an extra person that Amora had to worry about, and boy did she worry a lot. It was like second nature to the Hufflepuff who feared the death of her loved ones more than her own.

People were returning to their common rooms with the curfew coming up in the next half an hour, but Amora found herself pacing one of the empty halls, swallowing thickly as she scrunched her fists up to stop her fingers snapping to her hair.

A group of third year Gryffindor boys walked by her whilst she paused to look out one of the windows and she heard them talking about Harry-- just like the whole school was. Her loyalty for her friend burnt in her chest and she bit down on her lip before calling after them, attempting to make her voice sound strong.

"You probably shouldn't talk like that about Harry when you don't know the truth," Amora told them all sternly.

"Oh, come on!" The one with rectangular glasses and blond hair snickered. "Who are you kidding? Potter obviously put his name in the Goblet. As if being The Chosen One isn't good enough for him, he wanted to have Eternal Glory, too!"

Amora frowned, realising rumours were probably going to start spreading fast about the Potter boy, just like they always did. She slumped down on the edge of a window, watching the rain lash down faster against the glass. It was one of Amora's favourite sounds, yet it brought her no comfort tonight.

"You should get to bed," Harry's voice came from behind her.

The brunette turned, more than surprised to see him there. She was waiting for Cedric to return, but Harry would do for now. Amora lifted herself from the raised concrete she had been resting against, a solemn expression written across her usually bright face.

"It's not true, is it?" Amora questioned him. "What everybody's saying."

Harry sent her a soft smile and it was the first time he'd smiled since his name had been spat out of the Goblet of Fire. "You don't seem to think so."

Amora's cheeks heated up at the realisation that he'd heard what she said to the third year boys. She tucked some hair behind her ears and sighed loudly.

"Of course I don't think so," Amora spoke. "After what you said at the library last night and the looks on Hermione and Ron's faces when Professor Dumbledore said your name... I just know that you would have told them if you'd gone and done it yourself."

Harry moved to sit down and Amora sat back down next to him. "Thank you," the green-eyed boy breathed. "Even Ron doesn't believe me right now."

"Ron will come around," Amora promised him, her hand moving to pat his hand from where it rested on the space in between them. "He's your best friend and he loves you. He's probably just confused and worried about you."

There was a small silence as the pair sat there. Some Hufflepuff girls walked by from the year above, smiling at Amora on the way. Amora waved, a smile of her own on her face, but she couldn't quite force it to meet her eyes. She had too much on her plate right now and they were only a week into the school year.

"Are you?" Harry asked quietly.

"Am I what?" Amora frowned.

"Are you worried about me?" He sounded scared to ask.

"I am," Amora admitted, feeling the pit in her stomach grow heavier with anxiety. "Between you and Cedric, I don't know who I'm going to be rooting for," she joked, trying to lighten the tension and some of Harry's own nerves.

Harry chuckled, shaking his head. He looked glad that Amora had tried to ease the mood. After a second or two, he stretched his back and then stood up.

"I should go. Curfew is soon."

"Right," Amora nodded in agreement, knowing it was probably best for her to wait in the common room for Cedric anyway. "Good night, Harry. Try not to stress on it and have a good night's sleep."

"Thanks, Amora," he whispered, and his green eyes never left her figure as she wandered down the hall, all the way out of his sight.

Amora only had to wait another six minutes before Cedric was coming into the Hufflepuff common room, laughing with his friends. The look on his face screamed pure joy-- a huge contrast to Harry who looked like he was on the verge of a breakdown. Amora felt a tightness in her chest, one that she knew she would have to ignore if she wanted to support her cousin.

"Cedric," she called, rushing towards him.

"I got in!" He grinned at her, grabbing her and pulling her into his chest for a moment or two. "I'm officially a Triwizard champion, Amora! Can you believe it? A Hufflepuff-- Triwizard champion!"

Suddenly, Amora didn't want to voice her concerns to him. She knew that it would be selfish to rip away his excitement and remind him about how scary each tournament could be. Instead, she found herself smiling, and she hoped it looked genuine.

"I can believe it, because you deserve it, Cedric," she promised him, and it was the truth. "Uncle Amos is going to be so happy."

Cedric's face lit up even more. "He will be, won't he?"

"Of course," Amora murmured before she noticed a line of other Hufflepuffs waiting to talk to their most famous member. "I'll let you get to your fan club."

Cedric snickered and shook his head, scruffing her hair up with his hand. Amora feigned a glare but smiled as she moved past him, patting down her dark hair. She glanced over her shoulder as she started to head towards the girls' dormitories, finding her the tall boy hugging a girl in his year as somebody else clamped their hand down on his shoulder and started chanting his name. 

"You did the right thing," Leon suddenly appeared out of nowhere, making her jump. "By supporting him, I mean. That's what Cedric needs right now, and it's all you can offer."

Amora nodded in agreement. "You're right, though. He'll probably be fine, anyway. He might even win."

"I don't know, Harry Potter always seems to come out on top of everything," Hannah Abbott shrugged from the other side of them, and only then did Amora realise the blonde had been lurking there.

Amora sighed. "Either way, Harry and Cedric are both good people. If it's not Krum or Fleur, they'll be happy for each other."


	8. Chapter 8

A couple of weeks had gone by since the Triwizard champions had been announced and Harry was being mocked behind his back left and right, even by his own fellow Gryffindors. Amora hated to hear it and it became tiresome during classes when people would mutter words about Harry being a liar and a fraud where she could hear. Even the Hufflepuffs whispered in the safety of their common room, convinced Harry was trying to steal Cedric's glory.

Amora yawned as she sat down at her table at breakfast, her eyes still slightly heavy as they pleaded for her to just lean down and rest her head on the oak where she could maybe squeeze in another fifteen minutes or so of sleep. Leon nudged her as he reached forwards and grabbed a sausage off of one of the many platters in front of them.

"Are you going to Professor Flitwick's revision session tonight?" Leon asked, mouth full with what looked like bacon.

Amora grimaced a little and she had to stop herself from telling him to eat with his mouth shut like her mother would. Instead, the tired girl looked down at the steaming bowl of porridge in front of her and shrugged her shoulders.

"I dunno," she admitted. "I think I'm doing fine in Charms, and I'm absolutely knackered. I'll probably want to sleep as soon as last lesson's over."

"Fair," Leon sighed, watching the girl lazily lift her spoon into her mouth and eat. "Hey," he suddenly hissed.

"What?" Amora mumbled.

"Don't look now, but Harry's staring at you," her best friend grinned wide from ear to ear, snickering as he nudged her.

Amora felt her cheeks heat up and she shook her head. Slowly, she was becoming less and less oblivious, but it didn't stop the uncertainty and self consciousness inside her. She had her slight suspicions that Harry might have a small crush on her, yet at the same time she'd managed to convince herself that she was delusional and just full of herself to think somebody as special as Harry Potter would ever like her more than a good friend.

"So?" She dismissed him bashfully.

"So, I'm just saying, as your best friend I give you my permission," Leon grinned.

"Oh, I need your permission, do I?" Amora raised her brows. "Just leave it, Leon. I don't want to damage Harry and I's friendship. Because that's all we have, and it's all I want from him."

"Don't tell me you still fancy Blaise Zabini?" Leon groaned, shaking his head in shame.

"No!" Amora protested, her voice accidentally carrying across the hall and causing some people to look over. She blushed furiously and sent a look to Leon. "I haven't had a crush on him since the start of third year."

Leon would know that if it was the type of stuff the two best friends talked about, however, when it came to crushes and relationships, Hermione was Amora's girl. New crushes didn't come often, but Amora rarely hesitated to gush over a cute boy in the year above or squeal about the fictional boys in the books they both read. And whilst Hermione had yet to admit it, Amora was sure she was crushing on Ron— which Amora thought was totally adorable.

"Good," the brown-eyed boy pursed his lips as he glanced towards the Slytherin table. "Never date a Slytherin, Amora. They all end up the same way."

Amora's face contorted, twisting into an expression of disgust as soon as the words escaped her best friend's lips. She dropped her spoon into her porridge bowl, scowling at him slightly.

"What sort of prejudiced nonsense is that?" She huffed. "Merlin was a Slytherin, you know."

"It's just better safe than sorry. After what happened at the Quidditch Cup I won't be going round any of their houses this Christmas term. Their parents will probably abra cadabra me."

"Abra cadabra?" Amora repeated in confusion, tilting her head to the side a little.

Leon sighed like he always did when she didn't understand one of his Muggle references. However, like always, he explained. "It's just a play on words. Muggles pretend it's a spell when they dress up like wizards and witches for fun. And it kind of sounds like the Killing Curse."

Amora scrunched her nose up. "Right. Well, I don't think you should say that about people's parents, Leon. If they heard you could get into some serious trouble, you know."

"Let's just agree to disagree. They're no good, Amora."

If she had more energy, the brunette most likely would have fought back with him some more, but instead the Hufflepuff shoved some more porridge into her mouth and then kept it shut. 

D.M + A.B

Amora slept through dinner that evening. She didn't mean to, but as soon as she got back to her dormitory after a long day of school, she'd crashed onto her bed and fallen asleep in her school uniform, with her tie and robes and all.

Nobody had bothered to wake her, so when she woke up in an empty room she was disoriented and confused, her brain not quite comprehending what time it was for some reason. When it dawned on her that everybody was probably down in the Great Hall, Amora prayed her skirt and shirt weren't too wrinkled and headed up.

"Amora, you're getting worse and worse and we've barely been back at school for two weeks," Susan scolded her.

"Yeah, yeah," Amora dismissed her groggily, shoving herself down onto the bench in between Hannah and Leon.

Cedric was a few seats across from her. "Alright, Amora?"

She shot him two thumbs up and Cedric went back to talking to his friends, leaving her be. She didn't bother to stack her plate up with any food but reached across and grabbed a rosy apple. She took a bite of it and then was bored already, too lazy to even chew.

"You've been exhausted all day, you should go back up to sleep," Hannah said worriedly. "Were you reading again all last night?"

Amora sent her a sheepish smile that told them everything. Susan rolled her eyes whilst Leon just shook his head in amusement.

"Some bloody romance novel, I bet," he quipped.

"It wasn't, actually," Amora shook her head. "It's part one in a series. It's not a Muggle one, either. It's about a witch who—"

"Boring," Pansy Parkinson muttered childishly as she walked by the Hufflepuff table.

Amora ignored her. "A witch who can read into the future, and she knows bad things are going to happen, but she can't tell anyone. It's quite interesting, actually."

"Maybe I'll have to borrow it sometime," Hannah smiled to make Amora feel better after Pansy's rude comment.

"Of course!" Amora agreed enthusiastically. "Hermione actually recommended it to me. She's really good at recommending books, you should ask her sometime. She gave me a list at the start of summer and I'm already more than half way through it—"

"Let's talk about something more interesting," Susan cut her off. "Like Cedric being a Triwizard champion," she said loud enough for her cousin and the other older students to hear.

A small ripple of whistles and applause echoed on the Hufflepuff table. Amora smiled at Cedric who was simultaneously thanking everybody whilst brushing them off. He didn't like to be the center of attention— her cousin always had been so humble and honest. A true Hufflepuff.

"Thanks, guys," he muttered. "I'm excited, I'm excited."

"Do you think you'll win?" Susan pressed.

"You sound like Rita Skeeter," Cedric joked and naturally everybody laughed with him. "Maybe. I hope so. If I don't, I want Potter to win, though."

Amora listened, picking at her apple as she thought about it. She would probably back up her flesh and blood, but at the same time, Harry was one of her best friends and right now most people were against him. He could do with a friend like Amora in his court. 

D.M + A.B

Down in the Hufflepuff common room later that night, Amora sat curled up in the armchair with her book in her hands, appreciating the warmth of the fire nearby. It was golden like the rest of the room, placed on the left wall of the room with a few sofas and seats surrounding it. There were a few others up and about, including a group of first years who were playing some sort of board game noisily in the corner.

Her eyes were darting rapidly across each line of words, the cogs in her brain twisting and turning to take in all of the information that she was receiving. She was on the last chapter and so far so many things hadn't been resolved for the main character, but Amora was desperate for some sort of satisfactory ending. One that she knew wouldn't come with only three pages left.

"No!" The brunette exclaimed, sitting up straight once she read the last line and found herself on a cliffhanger. "What-" She had to refrain from throwing the book on the floor. "What in Merlin's name?"

Kathy Redsoft looked up from her Charms homework. "What is it, Amora?" She asked softly.

"I finished my book," Amora was scrambling to pull her robes back on from where she'd flung them over the side of the chair. "I need to go and get the next one."

"I never thought I'd have to say this, but you read too much, Amora," Kathy shook her head. "If you spent half as much time studying as you did reading then maybe you would get an Outstanding in Herbology."

Amora scoffed at the reminder of her lack of skill in Professor Sprout's subject. At this point, it was her worst lesson and she was predicted just an Acceptable in her O.W.L.s next year. Kathy had been her partner last year and she was constantly rolling her eyes when Amora would mess up.

"Sure, sure," Amora dismissed her words with a shake of the hand, grabbing her book and heading towards the exit of the common room.

"Amora!" Kathy called again, much to her annoyance. "Aren't you forgetting that the library closes at eight? You have fifteen minutes!"

Kathy was unfortunately right and Amora had forgotten all about Hogwarts' rules. She cursed under her breath but promised her peer that she would be back in time, starting to run as soon as she left the room.

People were starting to head back to their common rooms and dormitories with curfew approaching slowly but steadily, and Amora managed to send a smile in the direction of everybody she passed.

Luckily, the library wasn't far from the Hufflepuff common room, but she did have to climb to the first floor where students became even more sparse. Amora made it to the library doors, wincing when she saw Madam Pince, the librarian, standing towards the exit scolding a group of Slytherins. Amora noticed that it was Crabbe, Goyle, and Blaise.

She managed to sneak past them whilst the librarian was distracted and she made her way towards the fictional section, which was a whole lot smaller than some of the others in the library. Her eyes hurt as they darted around all of the colourful book covers, hunting to find the second one in the series she'd managed to become addicted to. Amora blamed Hermione and her impeccable taste in fictional books.

Minutes must have gone by before Amora heard the rattle of Madam Pince's keys. Her eyes widened as they finally landed on the book in question, but it was right at the top of the shelf. Amora's heart started to pound as she pulled out her wand.

"Accio book," she hissed, watching as the book floated down and into her hands.

She grinned and started to rush for the doors when she heard a loud bang, followed by a series of locks. Amora's heart nearly dropped in her chest, her face scrunching up in disbelief.

Surely Madam Pince wouldn't have locked the library up before checking for students inside? Although, she supposed she had snuck in at the last minute... but still!

The brown-eyed girl darted for the library doors and started to bang on them, only to be met with silence on the other end. She cursed herself for thinking that she needed the stupid book so much, putting it down by her feet as she attempted with both hands to get the lock undone. When that failed, she lifted her wand.

"Alohomora," she spoke, voice wobbling with anxiety.

Nothing budged much to her dismay. She started to bang on the door again, desperate for somebody to come and let her out. Whilst she loved the library, no way did she want to be stuck in here overnight. Especially alone and in near darkness.

Amora heard footsteps behind her, causing her to scream a little. A hand clamped over her mouth and her eyes widened as she looked into familiar silver ones, her heartbeat calming down. Draco Malfoy stood in front of her with a slight scowl written across his pale face.

"What the hell are you screaming for?" He grumbled.

His icy hair was a little messy and his skin was slightly pink on one side, leading Amora to the conclusion that he had managed to fall asleep at a desk, and somehow Madam Pince hadn't noticed him. Draco's eyes darted around as he peeled his hands away from Amora's lips. She didn't need to open her mouth to let him know why she was screaming, he had worked it out.

"Are we... Locked in?" Draco dared to ask.

"It looks like it," Amora breathed, shaking her head in disbelief.

Draco's lips curled. "What a joke! Hogwarts is the worst school on this earth, it's official. Once my father hears about this, it won't be long until Dumbledore is--"

"Oh, please shut up, Draco," Amora huffed. "Unless you know any spells to get us out of here then we're stuck here for the night and I honestly do not feel like listening to you rant on and on about how much you hate everything."

The blond boy sent a sneering glare her way, but Amora turned swiftly away from him and grabbed the book she'd come for, heading over to sit at one of the tables nearby. She could hear Draco spitting every spell that he could think of from by the door, and each time one failed he'd grow angrier and angrier. Eventually, after what must have been about forty-five minutes, he gave up, slumping with his back against the door.

"We'll lose points for both our houses for this, you know," Draco huffed. "And Dumbledore will probably double mine. Everybody knows the old git hates Slytherin the most."

Amora sighed, feeling genuinely bad for him for a split second, although she was sure he wouldn't take any more points away from Draco than he would Amora. She dreaded Madam Pince opening the doors tomorrow morning and the lectures they'd probably both receive from their headmaster.

Her attention turned back to her book for a few minutes and, slowly, another half an hour went by, but Draco had yet to move from his spot by the doors. He was looking at her when she turned to him, but as soon as silver met copper, he tore his gaze away and scowled. Amora swallowed and closed her book, dog-earing the page since she didn't have a bookmark on her.

She contemplated her next actions but ended up standing anyway, walking over to where Draco was sat. She sat down opposite him, her back against some shelves of books. Draco glanced towards her, his top lip slightly curled as he scanned her up and down. Amora nearly felt insecure, but she didn't let Draco get to her-- it was just Draco being Draco.

"How did you even end up here?" She asked him.

"I fell asleep, obviously," Draco muttered. "And my friends obviously weren't decent enough to wake me up. Their practical jokes have never been funny."

Amora guessed they'd told Madam Pince that they were the last ones in there to get Draco in trouble for a laugh, which she wouldn't like either if her friends did that to her. Her eyes were sympathetic as she watched him fiddle with the ends of his robes in his lap, the scowl on his face.

"You will get wrinkles if you keep frowning like that," Amora spoke softly, causing his judgemental eyes to snap back towards her. "I don't mean it in a rude way, you should probably just relax your face, though. Did you know it takes more muscles to frown than it takes to smile--"

"I don't remember asking you, blood traitor," Draco snapped, immediately shutting her up.

Her crestfallen face nearly made Draco blurt an apology, but he sealed his lips and looked away. Not many people liked to upset the kindest of the Hufflepuffs, and whilst the Malfoy boy did consider them the weakest and most useless house, he did have to admit there was something about causing one to stop smiling or laughing that didn't feel too good at all. He much preferred mocking the Gryffindors-- he never felt guilty about that at all.

"It's hard to feel any sympathy for you when you make stupid remarks like that," Amora said.

Draco's nose scrunched up. "I don't want your sympathy!"

The brunette decided to leave him alone after that. She drifted to her feet and headed back towards the table that she had been sat at before. She wasn't really that tired considering the nap she had taken after classes, and she assumed Draco wasn't either since he'd literally woken up from one an hour ago. She rested her chin on her hand, tracing her fingers over the cover of her book.

It was going to be a long night.


	9. Chapter 9

Amora eventually came to terms that she was going to be stuck with just Draco Malfoy for hours at what she assumed was about ten at night. She knew that there were far worse places in the castle to be trapped in overnight. Although, if could have picked who was staying with her, she might have picked somebody else. Scratch that-- she definitely would have picked someone else. All Draco kept doing was muttering complaints under his breath, as if this was the first inconvenience he'd ever experienced in his perfect life. 

"You could read," Amora suggested, peering up from her book to cut him off mid-complaint. 

She hadn't spoken to him for about an hour since he called her a blood traitor, but knowing he wasn't going to apologise, she'd have to get over it as soon as possible. The candlelight by Draco's face made his icy skin glow and his grey eyes seem darker. His lips didn't curl in disgust and his nose didn't scrunch up this time.

"I don't want to read, I want to leave," Draco said stubbornly.

"Well, we can't," Amora shrugged, pausing for a moment before she shuddered and pulled her robes closer to her body. "Gosh, it's chilly in here."

Draco glanced over at her but didn't say anything. He was fine with the jumper he had on over his shirt and tie, as well as the black robes. 

"You should have worn your jumper," Draco insisted casually, staring at the door in front of him with his cheek resting on his hand.

"I was too hot earlier," the brunette replied, despite the fact that she knew Draco didn't really care.

Silence plunged into their small talk just like that and Amora's eyes tried to return back to her book. She had to admit that this sequel was no match for the first one. She was already so disappointed in it, but Hermione had warned her of that before she even read book number one. 

She climbed from her seat and began to head towards the fictional area again. The scraping back of the wooden chair alerted her classmate who glanced up from his lap, watching her curiously. Draco said nothing as he followed behind her, watching her head tilt up to read all of the covers, her dainty fingers reaching out to run past the spines of every book she passed.

Amora put the book she had been reading back where she found it and then ducked down onto her knees, examining the novels on the bottom few shelves. Draco stood at the end of the aisle, folding his arms across his chest.

"Do you plan on staring at me all night?" Amora asked, a teasing edge to her tone.

"I have nothing better to do," Draco spoke.

Amora eventually found nothing and settled for sitting on the carpet of the floor down that aisle. It was a little warmer than where they had been sitting out in the open right by the entrance. She stretched her legs out in front of her and pulled her skirt further down to cover her bare legs a little better. Her fingers worked to pull up her knee socks too. She regretted not wearing tights. 

Draco found himself sitting down on the other side of the aisle, right in front of her. He crossed his long legs which seemed to be growing and growing every summer that passed. He noticed that Amora hadn't grown at all, height wise, that was. Draco did notice the way Amora seemed to get more beautiful every year, especially this year with her new hairstyle.

He took pity on the way that she was shivering slightly. Draco did blame her for forgetting her own jumper, but at the same time it wasn't her fault that the girls were forced into skirts and socks and not trousers like the boys. Without saying anything, he shrugged off his robes and then his jumper, tossing it at her legs.

Amora picked the soft material up and glanced at him, frowning a little.

"I can't stand your complaining," Draco spoke, although Amora had only mentioned being cold once and the both of them knew it. "Just take it before the chattering of your teeth gets any louder and I use the books to bash my own head in."

Her cheeks heated up without her consent as she fiddled with Draco's jumper. The Slytherin crest was stitched onto the side but Amora didn't mind. She took off her robes and slipped it over her head, pulling it down and then pulling her dark hair out of it. It smelt of Draco's cologne, accompanied by a fresh sort of peppermint scent. Amora would never admit it but she liked the smell.

"Thank you, Draco," Amora murmured.

Draco's nose scrunched up. "Yeah, well, I didn't do it for you, I did it so that you'd be quiet."

"Draco, just say 'you're welcome' or something," Amora laughed, shaking her head at the mystery that sat right in front of her. "I don't care why you did it."

She slipped her robes back on whilst Draco contemplated what she had said. He took a few moments to stare at her and the way that she looked in his jumper. It was too big for her, the sleeves slipping down past her hands, but he assumed that would make it warmer for her. He couldn't help but think that the forest green of the Slytherin crest complimented her dark hair and mohogany eyes prettily.

Draco silently scolded himself at the thought, before reminding himself that of course she would look better in Slytherin uniform-- anybody would. After all, it was the superior house, in his opinion. Yes, that was why he thought she looked good. 

"You're welcome," he whispered instead.

He slipped his own robe back on, feeling a little colder than before. Draco convinced himself that it was okay because at least it would shut Amora up, yet his eyes never left the girl that he was said to hate so badly. Amora had her head lying back, her hands skimming the thin carpet beneath her body absentmindedly. It looked like she was probably daydreaming.

Minutes slipped by agonisingly slow and Amora grew increasingly bored. She contemplated suggesting that they try and sleep, but she knew that there was no way she was going to do so on the floor. It looked like they were going to be up all night, either ignoring each other or spitting crude remarks to see who snapped first.

Right now they seemed fine though. Draco wasn't glaring anymore and everything was just quiet. It got her thinking what had even made them hate each other so much in the first place.

Amora snorted, making Draco look at her. "Do you remember when I tackled you in our second year?"

The corners of Draco's lips very nearly twitched up into a smile. "You're lucky I have a policy against hitting girls, Buckley. I would have won."

"Oh, please," Amora scoffed. "I was probably stronger than you in second year. I was taller than you."

"Barely," Draco remarked. "Besides, look at you now. You haven't grown an inch!"

"Yeah, yeah, you're all gangly limbs and stuff now," Amora smiled, shaking her head in amusement. When Draco's stern face didn't budge she sighed. "That was a joke, by the way."

"Not a very funny one."

Amora sighed exasperatedly. She would never win with Draco, he always had some sort of snotty remark up his sleeve. He confused her too-- about how he would literally give her the jumper off of his back and then turn around and treat her like she was a burden. However, Amora liked to think Draco would probably be crying and freaking out right now if he'd been locked in alone.

"Why do you hate me so much?" Amora dared to ask with a glare hard enough to make Professor Snape jealous.

Draco scoffed and ran his slender fingers through his platinum hair. It flopped off of his forehead for a moment before it fell back into place, nearly as neatly as it had been before. His nose was doing that scrunched-up thing again, something Amora noticed he did when he was irritated or disgusted-- which he seemed to be a lot of the time.

"Hate you?" Draco repeated. "I don't hate you, Buckley. Potter I hate. You? You just annoy me. Have done ever since you ran into me on that blimmin' train."

"You're holding a grudge from four years ago?" Amora raised her brows. "Talk about stubbornness. Besides, that was a complete accident. You and I both know that."

Draco rolled his eyes. "That's not what made me dislike you. It was simply the start of it."

"I don't see how I'm annoying," Amora detested, pulling her knees up to her chest. She was careful to position them and her skirt right to not flash Draco her pants-- she was pretty sure she would die if that ever happened to her. "If anybody here is annoying, it's you, Draco. You're the one that's so stuck up about blood status and only ever brags about his father's money."

Draco didn't know how to reply for a moment and it was obvious. "Name one time--"

"Hmm, let's see. At the Quidditch Cup when you bragged about sitting in the ministry box, last year when you told Ron his family sleep in one bedroom, which is disgusting by the way, and--"

"Okay, okay," Draco cut her off angrily, "I get it. But so what? If your surname had such a legacy behind it, no doubt would you be proud either."

"There's a difference between being proud and being prejudiced."

"Well, let's just agree that we will never see eye to eye," Draco huffed.

More silence followed. She was done with arguing with the Malfoy boy. It was clear that he thought the most of himself and had a superiority complex-- something Amora had never been able to understand. This was most likely one of the longest conversations they'd ever had in their four years of knowing each other, and so far, minus Draco handing her his jumper, it was just like every single one before.

Amora decided that she would kill Draco with kindness. "I like your ring," she gestured to the band wrapped around his finger.

She noticed that he had been wearing it for maybe the past year or so, but now that they were up close and not arguing, she could tell that it had something to do with Slytherin considering that the silver had been wrapped into a serpent.

Draco instinctively held his hand out and glanced down at it, raising his eyebrows as if he had never really thought about what the ring looked like before. Perhaps Amora had been the first person to ever compliment it. He looked like he wanted to scowl at her as he looked back up at her, but instead he pursed his lips into a straight line and spat a short, "thanks."

"That's cool that you guys have them," Amora continued casually. "I don't think a badger would look that good on a ring, you know?"

"Definitely not," Draco spat quickly.

Amora sighed at his reluctance to have a normal conversation with her. Despite his negativity and some of the awful things Draco said, she was willing to be civil with him. At least right now she didn't mind being civil. He wasn't being too mean at the moment. 

Draco hesitated, scanning her defeated figure. "Maybe a pin tie, though," he suggested quietly, much to Amora's surprise. "That might look cool."

She couldn't stop the smile spreading across her face, no matter how much she didn't like him. Draco Malfoy merely suggesting that a Hufflepuff could look anything but dorky was somewhat revolutionary to her. She reached for her tie absentmindedly, tucking it out of Draco's jumper and fiddling with it.

"Yeah, maybe," she agreed.

Amora couldn't help thinking about how Draco was most likely her exact opposite. Despite the fact that they were both Pure-bloods, there probably wasn't much else that they had in common.

He came from a huge household that showered him in all the gold he desired, whilst Amora's quaint cottage barely fit her three family members sometimes. He was a Slytherin, she was a Hufflepuff. He took blood status seriously, meanwhile Amora thought it was one of the most ridiculous things the wizarding world had come up with. 

Not only that, but even physically they looked different, too. His paper skin looked even paler beside her tanned white skin, his platinum hair bright next to her dark chocolate locks. Her eyes were the deepest shade of amber whilst his were the iciest of blue, borderline silver.

No wonder they clashed so much. 

However, in the silence of the desolate library, Amora couldn't help but stare at Draco and think he was quite handsome when he wasn't being such a twat. She'd acknowledged his good looks before, but never properly. Amora had always been too busy staring at his less problematic best friend, Blaise Zabini, to pay attention to the blond. 

"What are you thinking about?" Draco asked after minutes of silence.

It was strange hearing him speak so softly to her. No rage hid behind his silver eyes, just pure curiosity.

Amora shrugged a little. "Not much. Nothing important. Just how tired I'm going to be tomorrow."

"They better let us out of lessons tomorrow," Draco insisted. "And no doubt will Parkinson, Crabbe, and Goyles' parents all be hearing from my father. The cheek of it!"

"That was rather mean," Amora agreed.

"Will your father be having words with Dumbledore?"

The brunette nearly burst out laughing, an amused expression written across her face as she looked up at him. Draco was looking at her seriously though, suggesting that he hadn't been joking at all.

"I don't know who you think my father is, but he's just an Owlet Trainer. Besides, he probably would tell me off for sneaking past Madam Pince in the first place," Amora smiled, shaking her head. "So no, my family probably will not be having any words with anyone. My mother will probably just laugh."

"Oh, Professor Buckley," Draco muttered, as if just remembering who her mother was. 

"Yeah," Amora nodded. "Ever thought about taking Muggle Studies up? It's an easy O.W.L and you may learn a thing or two from Muggles. Like their books for example-- they're amazing! Oh, and they use elek- elect-- sorry, it's a weird word-- electricity-- think I said that right. It's all these cables and wires and things and they plug things into walls and boom! Light."

Draco's face was pulled back down into a frown. "How weird. I don't think I will. I'd rather not learn about them, not that my father would approve anyway. No offense, but he doesn't like your mother."

"I know," Amora sighed. "A lot of Pure-blood parents don't."

He noticed the way her face had fallen and he nearly regretted saying it in the first place. The idea of people hating his mother would make him furious. Draco could handle people hating his father, but he did have a soft spot for his mother-- she was the one that had taken care of him and loved him the most.

Amora hated the slight tension that they had created so she quickly tried to change the subject. "So. Are you excited for the Triwizard Tournaments?"

Draco shrugged back. "Don't know. I'm rooting for Krum before you ask and get offended."

"Oh," Amora frowned before she thought about it. "Yeah, maybe we shouldn't talk about that, since I'll be rooting for both Cedric and Harry."

"You can't want both to win," Draco said matter-of-factly. "You'll have to pick one. Though once Potter's out after the first tournament, I guess it will be easy for you to want Diggory to win."

"Hey," Amora shot him a pointed look. "Give Harry some credit. He's survived more than any of us at this school have, Draco. I'm sure this will be a piece of cake for him."

Of course the ice-haired boy did not like the way that she was not only defending Harry but practically gloating over him. Draco folded his arms across his chest and tried not to look too disgusted by the idea, but he was horrible at hiding any negative emotion that crossed his path for even a split second. Amora saw it but she didn't bother to argue with him over it.

"Potter's been lucky," Draco muttered, also not feeling like fighting.

Amora yawned and leaned back, closing her eyes. Her back felt stiff against the wooden shelves behind her and she kept shifting, her bum also starting to go numb from the hardness of the ground beneath them.

"Tired?" Draco asked.

"Yeah," Amora sighed. "I've been knackered all day. I got a kip in around dinner, but that was only about an hour."

The two teenagers grew quiet. They had no idea whether it had been hours yet, or if it just felt that way. It was definitely getting colder, even for Draco. Amora did the warming charm every now and then, but the warm air that came from the end of her wand never lasted too long and her arm ached as she tried to make the slow clockwise circles over and over. It also required concentration-- which her sleepy mind wouldn't allow too much of.

"It should not be this cold in September," Draco groaned.

"Do you want your jumper back?" Amora started to pull her robes off, only for his icy hand to grab her wrist and he shook his head.

"Keep it," he muttered. 

"Gosh, Draco! Your hand is freezing. You should take it--"

"My hands are always cold," the teenage boy assured her. "Even in the middle of summer."

"Penguins huddle together for warmth," Amora said.

"Are you suggesting we huddle together?" Draco looked at her incredulously.

"I'm not suggesting we wrap our arms around each other, I'm just saying that we'd probably be warmed if we sat beside each other," the brunette replied. "It's basic science and also it's only going to get colder through the night."

Draco must have realised that she was right because he hesitated for a second. Biting down on his bottom lip, his silver eyes scanned Amora and then the space beside her. Without saying anything, he lifted himself with a small grunt, his joints stiff from being in the same place for so long. Draco shuffled so that he was on the other side of the aisle next to her, their shoulders brushing and their legs stretched out ahead, touching each other.

He hated to admit that he could already feel the warmth of Amora's body heat beside him, making him want to huddle even closer. Perhaps even wrap an arm around her shoulders and pull her further into him.

"Better?" Amora asked.

"A little."

"We could bury ourselves under all of the books," Amora giggled, making Draco's lips actually tug up into a small grin, shaking his head.

"That would be warmer," he played along. "Or we could Incendio the place."

Amora laughed, a genuine laugh that Draco had only ever heard from across the Great Hall. Her head flung back a little and he nearly flinched when she leaned it against his shoulder. Draco didn't really touch his friends-- he didn't like to show physical affection, but he had seen Amora hugging and grabbing onto her friends all the time, which is part of the reason that he always teased her for having so many 'boyfriends.'

He didn't know why, but he didn't shove her away when she leaned her head on him. Draco convinced himself mentally that it was because she was warm. It was purely for his selfish reasons only. Not because he liked the smell of her perfume and shampoo or how he liked that he had been the one to make her laugh.

The silence that followed was a comfortable one as Amora lifted her head, but not far. Draco listened to her breathing grow heavier and noticed her hands were bunched up in the sleeves of his jumper for warmth. It wasn't long before he realised that her breathing had steadied and her cheek was pressing back on his shoulder.

Draco sat awkwardly for a moment, contemplating whether or not to move her. However, she was warm, and with nobody to see and judge him, Draco left her there, moving his head on top of hers so that he could, very slowly, drift off into a slumber as well.


	10. Chapter 10

Amora's eyes flickered open due to a bright light shining in them, her brown orbs flinching at the sunlight streaming through the high windows and directly onto her face. Only then did she remember that she was still in the library, and realise that she was slumped against Draco Malfoy of all people, a stiffness to her neck that she was familiar with from falling asleep upright whilst reading. Her shifting caused Draco to move his head, his silver eyes blinking and confused.

"What the..." Draco's voice sounded deeper in the morning and he cleared his throat, sitting up straighter so that they weren't touching. "Oh, right."

"It must be seven at least," Amora insisted. "The sun's too bright for it to be any earlier."

Draco nodded in agreement, running his hands through his blond hair as he collected himself. He released a small yawn, about to say something when they heard the clicking of multiple locks. Their eyes widened simultaneously and they scrambled to their feet. Amora started to rush towards the exit when Draco grabbed her by the arm, yanking her backwards.

"What are you doing?" Amora questioned him. "Madam Pince is opening the doors--"

"Do you want us to get in trouble?" Draco looked at her as if she was stupid, tugging her by the sleeve of her robe even further towards the back of the library. "We can sneak out and if we don't get caught then we can get away with this whole thing. No points are taken away from either of our houses."

Amora looked like she was considering his idea, a small pout on her face. "But what about you telling your father? There's no point if you're going to te--"

"I won't tell him," Draco huffed. "In fact, I think it's best we tell as minimal people as possible, don't you? And we definitely tell nobody about..."

"The penguin thing?" Amora referred to them sleeping beside each other with a sly smile.

"Right. The penguin thing," Draco confirmed, looking down at her with a stern face. "I'm serious, Amora. If your roommates ask, you got sick or something and went to Madam Pomfrey."

Whilst Amora didn't think it was a big deal that she was stuck with Draco in the library, the blond boy clearly thought so, so she did her best to nod and respect his wishes-- even if it would have been a funny story to tell everybody. Draco sighed with relief at the brunette's agreement, and that's when the library doors were finally pushed open.

Draco held a pale finger to his own lips, warning Amora to be quiet. He held a hand on her wrist as he walked ahead of her, the two of them trying to stalk around the perimeter of the library as quietly as possible. They could hear Madam Pince at the desk of the library, most likely setting everything up for the day.

"She's not gonna move from the door," Amora whispered worriedly.

Draco closed his eyes with a regretful look on his face. He pulled out his wand and whispered a quick 'Wingardium Leviosa' on one of the books, lifting it up higher and higher and higher. Amora craned her neck to watch him slowly levitate the book aisles over, all the way to the other side of the library, and then he swished his wand and dropped it, a loud bang echoing on the other side of the silent room.

They heard Madam Pince's actions freeze before she took off rushing to the other side of the library. Draco grabbed Amora's wrist and the pair rushed towards the exit, breaths caught in their throats as if they couldn't believe that they were actually about to get away with it, despite being locked inside overnight not really being their faults.

As soon as they'd rushed out of the library and a little further down the hall, Draco pulled his hand off of her skin and the pair burst into laughter. Amora giggled, her forehead leaning on Draco's arm and his hand on her shoulder as they tried to calm down. After a few moments, they pulled away, cheeks rosy and eyes glistening with what could only be described as euphoria.

"That was so clever," Amora beamed at him.

Draco shrugged in almost a bashful way, smiling. "Yeah, well..." They heard footsteps coming down the staircase nearby and he grabbed her shoulder, gaze turning intense again. "Remember what I said," he hissed.

Amora frowned but nodded, and as a group of Ravenclaws came down early for breakfast, Draco took off in the other direction, leaving the brunette standing by herself. She watched as he marched away, an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach like something might have changed between the two of them. Something small that might just lead to bigger things. 

D.M + A.B

The only people in the Hufflepuff common room when Amora finally reached it were some seventh years who paid her no attention as she snuck by them and headed towards her dormitory. She dreaded pushing the door open, standing outside it for a few seconds and taking deep breaths whilst she counted herself in. Finally, she forced herself to open the door, nearly wincing when four pairs of eyes snapped towards her.

Kathy, Hannah, Susan, and Zena Jacobs looked a mixture of concerned and curious, and it was Kathy who was first to jump into action, rushing towards her and grabbing her arms.

"Amora, where were you last night?" Kathy demanded. "I was waiting for you for hours. I was worried! We almost went to Professor Sprout about it!"

The brunette froze, her lips parting to voice the lie that Draco had come up for her earlier. She regretted not mentioning to him before that she was possibly the world's worst liar.

"I- I was at the hospital wing," Amora managed to squeak out.

"Oh no!" Hannah gasped, moving forwards to stand next to Kathy as they gushed over the girl. "What happened? Are you all right now?"

Amora forced a small nod and a fake smile that didn't reach her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, of course! I got to the, um, the library last night and some first years were practising spells or something. Got hit in the head by a flying book!"

She breathed out in relief as Hannah pulled her into a hug, clearly believing the lie that she had given. Amora felt like her skin was crawling with shame and guilt, yet at the same time, she felt somewhat proud of herself for coming up with a lie that quickly on the spot. As Hannah pulled away, Amora met the brown eyes of Susan. The ginger girl was staring at her unsurely, and then she scanned Amora's body over.

"Amora!" Susan practically shrieked. "Why on earth are you wearing a Slytherin jumper?"

Amora's eyes enlarged and snapped down to her chest where the green crest was no longer hidden by her robes. Everybody looked to her unsurely, waiting for her next move. Amora felt like her throat was closing up, panicking as she tried to come up with yet another lie.

"Um-" She stammered. "I was cold! And there was a seventh year Slytherin-- I can't remember his name now. But he was in the wing too, and he gave me his jumper."

Everybody seemed a little suspicious at this point, everybody apart from Zena who was a little ditsy anyway and probably didn't care enough to question her. The ebony-haired girl just went back to getting changed ready for breakfast which was quickly approaching.

"I need to shower," Amora cut in before anybody could ask any more questions, her cheeks burning red. "I'll meet you down at breakfast."

Hannah moved out of the way so Amora could grab her stuff from inside her trunk and then rush to the bathroom. She slammed the door shut behind her and stared in the mirror, realising that she looked sleepy... but alive. Her face was slightly flushed from a mixture of lying and running away from Madam Pince, and her hair was a little messy at the top from not having access to a brush when she woke up.

Amora took off her robes and left herself in Draco's jumper. She smoothed her hand across the crest and the neckline, wondering how she was going to return it to him without anyone suspecting anything. Normally, students had about two jumpers in case one got dirty, so Amora assumed Draco could hold off for a day or two until they were alone. Maybe she could pass it over next week in their Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson.

As Amora pulled it over her head, she caught a whiff of Draco's cologne and she recalled falling asleep against him last night. For some reason, she didn't feel as embarrassed or grossed out by it as she thought she would. Amora folded it neatly on the side as well as the rest of her uniform and climbed into the shower, letting the hot water stream down her body and heat her up.

Something had definitely changed, but Draco had made it transparent that they would not be talking about it anytime soon.

D.M + A.B

The weekend came and passed slowly. Amora didn't see much of anybody apart from Leon and Harry. After spending Saturday at Hogsmeade, Amora and Harry played Wizard's Chess where he told her how Ron still wasn't talking to him. Apparently, the Weasley boy believed whole-heartedly, just like the rest of the school, that Harry had cheated and put his name in the Goblet himself. Amora couldn't believe that Ron was so blindly following the crowd.

When Monday rolled around, Amora was less than surprised but still disgusted to find that half the school were wearing badges with Harry's face on it that read 'Potter stinks' and made whirring noises when they spun. Amora had a small headache by the time she'd walked halfway down one of the corridors, and she really hoped that Cedric had nothing to do with them.

"Amora!" One of the sixth year boys Cedric hung out with rushed towards her with a box full of badges. "Want to support your cousin? You can have a free--"

"No thanks, Benny," Amora pushed his hand away as he went to hand her one.

Benny didn't seem to care as he jogged further down the hall to hand badges to more students who were more than willing to take them. Up ahead, Amora saw the boy everybody had been talking about rushing ahead, trying to ignore everybody who was muttering crude remarks as he walked by.

"Harry!" Her voice stopped him and caused him to turn, a sigh of relief crossing his face as she rushed towards him, her robes flying slightly behind her.

"Thank Merlin it's you," Harry muttered. "I thought you'd be yet another person to yell 'Potter sucks' in my face."

Amora frowned sympathetically, placing a hand on the taller boy's arm. "I'm sorry, Harry. We should talk to Cedric about it, he can probably get everybody to stop wearing them."

Harry nodded in agreement as the pair went to walk down some steps outside, only to get blocked by Hannah and Ernie Macmillan, another Hufflepuff in their year. Ernie grabbed the badge and practically forced it into Harry's face.

"Like the badge?" He grinned teasingly.

Amora's face scrunched up in slightly disgust from behind them. "Not cool, guys," she spat, shoving them apart and walking through them so Harry could follow.

Cedric was lying across a bench in the middle of the grass, some of his friends hanging around him as they all messed around, laughing and yelling. Amora sighed and grabbed the sleeve of Harry's robe, dragging him over. Cedric sat up as soon as he saw his younger cousin and Harry Potter, shoving off his friends.

"Hey, read the badge, Potter!" One of them laughed above the others who were making mocking sounds.

Harry ignored them. "Can I have a word?"

Cedric looked slightly surprised that it was Harry who wanted to talk to him and not Amora, but he nodded and walked away with the younger boy. The rest of the Hufflepuffs called rude chants after him and Amora folded her arms across her chest, a glare on her features.

"You guys are seventeen making fun of a fourteen-year-old. Grow up," she hissed.

"Oo, sorry Professor Buckley," they all mocked, making her roll her eyes.

She watched as Harry and Cedric spoke and it looked like Cedric was trying not to smile at the remarks his friends were continuing to call whilst he nodded politely with whatever Harry was saying. Amora started to walk over when Cedric grabbed Harry's robe.

"About the badges, I asked them not to wear them--"

"Don't worry about it," Harry shook his head before his eyes landed on Ron walking with Seamus and he started to storm over.

Amora moved straight past Cedric and jogged to keep up, one hand on the strap of her backpack to keep it from falling off. She could sense the tension between the two best friends as Harry stopped right in front of the red-haired boy, a furious expression written across his face.

"You're a right foul git, you know that?" Harry spat at him.

Amora's eyes widened, wondering what could have possibly happened between the pair that caused Harry to be so rude. Nevertheless, she kept quiet as she hovered beside him, exchanging a glance with Seamus.

"You think so?" Ron muttered darkly.

"I know so," Harry insisted.

"Anything else?"

Harry looked a little taken aback as he contemplated his next words. "Yeah, stay away from me."

"Fine," the Weasley boy grumbled, making sure to bump his shoulder as he moved past, Seamus following him.

Amora frowned softly. "What happened, Harry?"

"Ron didn't tell me about the first tournament," he said. "There are dragons, Amora."

"Dragons?" She squeaked back, feeling lightheaded at the idea of her cousin and Harry having to interact with the creatures that breathed fire and were big enough to crush stadiums of students.

Harry nodded before they heard some more snickering coming from the left of them. When Amora glanced up, the last thing she expected was to see Draco sat in a tree, a grim smirk on his face whilst his friends stood around the bottom. They briefly made eye contact before Amora tore her eyes away, about to insist that they go somewhere else, but Draco had to open his gob.

"Why so tense, Potter?" The Malfoy boy grinned, making Harry pause and close his eyes. "My father and I have a bet, you see. I don't think you're gonna last ten minutes in this tournament."

Draco dropped down from the tree and started to march towards them, his entire gang following behind. Amora grabbed onto Harry's arm, trying to pull him away, but he shrugged her off. Draco's eyes burnt into her hands and his smirk turned even eviler.

"He disagrees. He thinks you won't last five!" Draco and his friends began to laugh as Harry stormed right up to him, finally bursting as everybody's words started to get to him.

"I don't give a damn what your father thinks, Malfoy," Harry yelled, shoving Draco back and wiping the smile off of his face. "He's vile and cruel and you're just pathetic."

As Harry started to head towards Amora, his back to the bullies, Draco grew angrier and angrier and reached into his robe to grab his wand. Amora grabbed Harry as she yelled Draco's name, but Professor Moody had already clocked what was going to happen, snapping his wand in the direction of the ice-haired boy and causing a shriek to escape him.

Amora's eyes widened as Draco quickly shrunk smaller and smaller, turning into a white ferret on the floor. Harry looked equally as stunned as their Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher marched over, practically growling with fury.

"I'll teach you to curse someone when their back is turned!" Moody snapped, lifting him up and down with the wand as everybody else laughed, including Harry. "You stinking, cowardly, scummy--"

"Professor Moody!" Amora cried, not finding the act funny whatsoever as he lurched Draco up and down and up and down. "Turn him back!"

Even Draco's friends were snickering and Amora found herself feeling immensely sorry for him. Nobody deserves to be humiliated like this in front of everybody. Draco deserved a smack on the wrist and a few house points taken away, but this didn't feel right to Amora one bit. It felt cruel and an abuse of power. She would have stuck up for anybody in that scenario.

"Professor Moody, what are you doing?" Professor McGonagall came rushing over to them.

"Teaching," Moody growled.

"Is that a-- Is that a student?" She gasped in disbelief.

"Technically, it's a ferret," he replied.

Moody lifted the squeaking animal even higher into the air and dumped it down the front of Crabbe's trousers, making the boy cry out. They'd attracted an even bigger crowd of laughing students and Amora felt sick to her stomach.

"Professor McGonagall, that's Draco Malfoy!" Amora cried to her.

The laughs grew even louder in her ears as Goyle tried to grab the ferret out of Crabbe's trousers, only to retreat his hand, shaking his bitten finger. Amora held her hand to her mouth as Draco slivered out the trouser leg and onto the floor. McGonagall pulled her wand out and pointed it at the ferret which quickly transformed back into a panicked Draco.

He stood up, his hair ruffled as he turned to face Moody, flinching and jumping back. "My father will hear about this!"

"Is that a threat?" Moody yelled and started to chase Draco around the tree. "I could tell you stories about your father that would curl even your greasy hair, boy!"

Amora looked physically pained as she watched their less than sane teacher yell after Draco. She glanced at Harry who was still grinning from ear to ear before she set off in the direction that Draco had disappeared in, leaving Professor McGonagall to scold the ex-Auror.

Her short legs attempted long strides as she turned a corner and saw Draco storming towards the direction of the Slytherin common room. Not many people were around so she called his name, eyes widening as he whirled around with a glare on his face. Amora rushed over to him, ignoring the look he was giving her.

"Are you okay?" She asked him worriedly. "Moody shouldn't have done that--"

"Why do you care, Amora?" Draco spat cruelly, making her flinch backwards. "Listen to me very clearly, okay?" With every step he took towards her, she took one back. "Just because we both ended up in the library last week does not mean we are friends. Not now, not ever."

Amora's face fell. Of course, she wouldn't call Draco Malfoy a friend of hers, but she thought that after that Thursday night that they'd grown civil with each other. The way he hadn't glared at her when they locked eyes at Hogsmeade on Saturday had confirmed that for her, but apparently she couldn't have been further from the truth.

"Draco--"

"What is it?" Draco sneered. "You got some sort of crush on me now because I gave you my jumper? How pathetic!"

Amora's face was red with a mixture of embarrassment and anger. Her nose scrunched up and she shoved Draco backwards by the shoulder, just like Harry had done to him earlier. Draco looked at her with the exact same expression he had given the boy with glasses.

"You wish, Draco," Amora hissed. "Trust me, you would be lucky if I had a crush on you, but you're the last person I would ever like. You're cruel and heartless and selfish and downright mean!"

Draco's lip was curled as he stared down at her, his eyes burning with something Amora couldn't quite detect. She somewhat hoped her words were hurting him, perhaps knocking some sense into him. She'd seen how he could be good if he wanted to, but Draco seemed to make all the wrong mistakes over and over.

"Is Malfoy bothering you, Amora?"

Amora and Draco turned to face Justin Finch-Fletchley, a Hufflepuff friend of Amora's. Although, she hadn't really spoken to him yet this year. He was supposed to be a friend of Harry's too, but since he was announced a Triwizard champion, Justin, along with a lot of other Hufflepuffs, believed that Harry was just trying to steal the glory from Cedric.

"No, I'm fine," Amora insisted, starting to back away from the white-blond haired boy.

"Are you sure?" Justin questioned.

Draco glared at Justin, no doubt because he was not only interrupting them but also a Muggle-born.

"She said she's fine, Mud—" Draco stopped himself from finishing his sentence and clenched his jaw before turning on his heel and marching back to the Slytherin common room.

It looked like Draco and Amora were back to square one.


	11. Chapter 11

Cedric had survived. Harry had survived. Krum and Fleur had survived. It was a miracle, really-- considering how huge those dragons had been and how badly they'd wanted to protect their golden eggs. If Amora was being perfectly honest, most of it had been a blur to her. She'd spent the majority of the time with her head buried in her hands, trying not to panic when the dragons swooped too close to Cedric or Harry.

But alas, everybody had retrieved their golden eggs some way or another, and Hufflepuff was celebrating large, just like Amora assumed Gryffindor probably were. Her cousin as the centre of attention and she had been the first to congratulate him, telling him how incredibly smart he was for using the Transfiguration spell on a rock to change it into a dog and distract his dragon.

Music blasted throughout the Hufflepuff common room and some seventh years had snuck in Firewhiskey which was being handed around in small quantities. Amora looked at the drink in her hand and sniffed it, cringing at the strong smell of alcohol. She'd had wine with her parents at home before, but never Firewhiskey.

"I'll do it if you do it," Leon grinned and the two of them mimicked the twins drinking their ageing potions, linking their arms and lifting their drinks to their lips.

Amora nearly regretted drinking it as soon as it slipped past her lips, slightly burning her throat. She wasn't allowed that much since it was mainly being passed around the older years, but it was enough to hurt a bit. Leon laughed as they pulled away, wiping his lips with the back of his hand.

"That was gross!" Amora giggled.

"It wasn't that bad!" Leon disagreed. "But no more."

"Everybody give it up for Cedric!" Benny boomed as he pulled himself up onto one of the tables and dragged Cedric with him, lifting his arm up.

Cedric grinned as he bathed in the glory he was already receiving, everybody chanting his last name whilst he lifted the golden egg in his other hand. Amora clapped her hands and chanted too, less nervous about the next tournament now that she knew Cedric could look after himself.

"Thanks, guys," Cedric waved for them to quieten. "I just wanna say thank you for all of the support you've been showing recently. Let's win the next one too!"

Everybody cheered, so loud that Amora felt it buzz through her entire system. She laughed blissfully as the music switched back on, some song by Weird Sisters started to play. Leon grabbed her, insisting that he loved the song above all of the other witches and wizards singing along. Amora danced with him, tilting her head to the ceiling and losing herself in the music.

For a split second, Amora thought about Draco and how he was probably in bed right now, not celebrating whatsoever. A smile took over her face-- this had been a victory for the Hufflepuffs. 

D.M + A.B

Amora woke up late like she did most mornings. With a poke to her side and a few concerned words from Hannah, the brunette was left alone in her dormitory, scrambling about to get dressed for breakfast. She brushed her teeth and washed her face in just over three minutes and quickly brushed her hair.

Without really looking, Amora's hands reached in her trunk and she grasped her uniform, slipping it on. After tying her shoes and spraying some perfume, the Hufflepuff brunette was dashing for the Great Hall, hoping to make it in time to not have to rush her breakfast.

The Hufflepuff table was sparse from a lot of sixth and seventh years, most likely due to the fact that they'd consumed too much Firewhiskey the night before. Leon still wasn't there when she came down, so she wandered over to the Golden Trio sat at the Gryffindor table. She did like her roommates, but Merlin could they be too much sometimes-- especially in the mornings.

Amora stood beside where Ron was sat, the ginger-haired boy holding something strange in his hands. It was a hunk of material that looked like it could have been a dress, and not a very pretty one at that.

"Hi, guys," Amora greeted them all. "Ron, is that a dress?"

Ron shot her a look. "No! They're dress robes."

Both Hermione and Harry began to snicker, as well as the twins who were sat a little further up the table with their friends. Amora felt a little bad for embarrassing him.

"Oh, well, they look good," she squeaked, sitting down in the empty space next to him.

Harry grinned. "No need to lie to him, Amora."

"No, no, no," Amora tried to lie even more. "I'm serious, Ron. They're... unique."

"That's one word for them," Hermione smiled as she glanced down at her breakfast, earning a small glare from the Weasley boy.

Ron just rolled his eyes. "You're a bloody bad liar, Amora."

Her ears burned a little as she sent him a bashful smile and settled her elbow against the Gryffindor table, her hand resting on her chin. The brunette's dark eyes narrowed on a cut across Harry's cheek and she winced, releasing a small hissing sound of empathy as she reached across and grabbed his chin gently, moving it to see clearer.

"Gosh, Harry! That must hurt," she frowned.

Harry's skin felt like it was on fire beneath her touch. "It's none. I mean, it's nothing," he corrected himself quickly, stammering on his words.

She missed the knowing look that Hermione and Ron sent each other, not thinking much of Harry's strange antics anyway.

"Cedric has a couple of burns, but nothing Madam Pomfrey couldn't fix," Amora said as she reached for a box of cereal and began to pour it into her bowl. "I think the most of his troubles right now is a hangover."

"Hufflepuff had a party?" Hermione asked.

"Didn't Gryffindor?" Amora looked up from pouring her milk.

"We celebrated, but not with alcohol," Seamus butted in sadly from a couple of seats away.

"I tried Firewhiskey for the first time!" Amora exclaimed excitedly. "Us fourth years were only allowed a little bit, but I'm pretty sure Cedric and his mates got absolutely hammered. Don't tell anyone though."

"Of course not," Harry agreed.

"Why would they do that on a school night?" Hermione tutted.

"You did really well, by the way, Harry," Amora complimented the boy she had yet to talk to since before his tournament yesterday.

In the rush of everything, Amora had gone rushing off with the Hufflepuffs whilst Harry had been whisked away by the Gryffindors to be practically worshipped now people finally liked him again. Most of the Slytherins had hung around Cedric due to their distaste for the red house, but Amora had seen Draco wander off with the Durmstrang boys, doing his best to congratulate Viktor Krum without looking like some sort of fanboy.

"Thanks," Harry released a breathy chuckle, feeling his ears burn as he shrugged his shoulders.

"Gosh! When you flew off with the dragon after you and you didn't come back for ages I thought that you were gone," Amora continued to gush. "I was so worried. But it was really clever of you to summon your broom, honestly. I would never have thought of it."

"Y-Yeah," he stammered. "I mean, it was terrifying, but I survived. Obviously."

Amora fiddled with the golden part of her robes, smiling as she chuckled. "Well, I'm glad."

Just as she did, she heard a spluttering choke come from in front of her. Hermione was wiping her mouth as she placed her glass of water down on the table, eyes wide and watering.

"Are you okay, Hermione?" Amora frowned as Harry patted his friend's back, also staring in concern. "Did it go down the wrong pipe?"

The Granger girl looked like she was contemplating, her cheeks burning as she leaned forward to whisper. Harry, Ron, and Amora did the same, the four practically forming a secret circle that kept everybody else out.

"Amora, your jumper," Hermione hissed, her honey eyes jerking to the item of clothing.

Frowning, Amora tugged her jumper away from her and glanced down, heart dropping at the Slytherin crest patched to the side and the green lining around the neckline. Amora felt sick, listening to Ron start to also choke whilst Harry looked a mixture of shocked and... disappointed?

How did she not notice how baggy it felt when she put it on this morning? In the rush of everything, she must not have realised, slipping her robe on and concealing most of it anyway.

"O-Oh!" Amora tried to laugh it off, waving her hand. "It's nothing- it's- it's--"

Suddenly she couldn't get her long lie out. It would be easy to just replay the same thing she'd told her roommates last week, but Amora didn't know where to start. She stood from the table, cheeks burning redder than the Gryffindors' own crests.

"Whose it, Amora?" Ron asked, but the brunette had already slipped her legs over the bench.

"I should go change," she blurted.

She raced out of the Great Hall, her dark hair flying behind her as she clutched her robes to her chest, hoping nobody else caught a hint of the bottle green on her chest.

Just great. 

D.M + A.B

Amora had been avoiding the Golden Trio like a plague for the past two days. Every time one of them caught sight of her she'd change directions or talk to whoever she was standing next to. She hated lying more than anything, and she didn't want to lie to her friends. Telling them Draco, someone who had made fun of them for the past four years, had leant her his jumper would only cause problems. She was hoping it would all just blow over.

She avoided Draco too, although that was pretty easy. They hadn't spoken since he'd practically told her to fuck off after Moody had turned him into a ferret and she'd tried to see if he was okay. In Defense Against the Dark Arts, they acted like the other didn't exist; not a single witty remark from the blond bully.

Her paranoia convinced her that if Hermione, Harry, or Ron so much as glanced in their direction during that class and saw her even breathe near him then they would know. Although, she was pretty sure that they thought she hated him more than anybody else.

Nowadays Amora had a hard time convincing herself that she hated Draco Malfoy, though. It was more than he frustrated her-- more than anybody else in the entire world.

However, she knew she couldn't avoid her friends forever. Leon was telling her that they were worried about her, and she hated being a burden. Amora decided to woman up and face them, sitting down beside them at breakfast later that week.

The three Gryffindors looked up in shock. "Amora," Hermione smiled warmly. "We just wanted to apologise for making you so uncomfortable--"

"No," Amora sighed, "I shouldn't have freaked out on you guys. It's not even a big deal how I ended up with the jumper anyway."

"Are you gonna tell us?" Ron poked, earning an elbow to the side from the Muggle-born next to him.

"It's a long story. You guys can't tell anybody."

And Amora proceeds to tell the truth. The actual truth about how she ended up with the Slytherin jumper on her back that morning a few days ago. They gasp and ask questions in all the right places, mostly unconvinced that Draco had been thoughtful enough to lend her his jumper.

"He made me swear not to tell anyone," Amora bit her lip. "I wanted to keep the promise, but... my loyalties lie with you above him, of course. I didn't want to lie to you guys."

"Who would have thought Malfoy had a nice bone in his body?" Ron scoffed.

Hermione grinned teasingly at the other girl. "Or a soft spot for our Amora!"

"Stop," the Hufflepuff blushed and shook her head. "That's not the case, I can assure you. In fact, the last time we spoke he basically told me that I was pathetic and accused me of having a crush on him."

"Do you?" Ron raised his brows.

"No!" Amora squeaked quickly. "Never."

Hermione didn't look particularly convinced. Harry was being awfully silent, pushing his breakfast plate away from him with an absent-minded frown. Amora barely noticed, she was too busy willing her cheeks and ears to cool down.

There was a sudden clatter from behind Hermione and Harry, and Draco was lurching up from his seat. Amora's heart nearly failed, convinced for a moment or two that Draco had somehow heard their conversation.

He had his back to them but Amora could sense how furious he was by his posture as he loomed over one of the first years that had knocked something into him. Some Slytherins were snickering around him, but most looked genuinely worried for the second year that was profusely apologising, tears already in his eyes.

"You need to watch where the hell you're pointing that thing!" Draco seethed, holding his arms out to stop himself touching the mess of milk down his front. "You're lucky you've not been here two months or else you'd regret that."

Harry was trying not to laugh as Draco began to storm out from the Great Hall, robes flying from behind him. As soon as he left, his 'friends' began to chuckle a little too, everything going back to normal. All tension returned to normal as Amora shovelled some cereal into her mouth, minding her own business. Draco had made it perfectly clear that he didn't want her help.

D.M + A.B

Lunch crawled around and Amora was more than ready to make her way to the Great Hall. October in Britain was never very pleasant weather-wise; it had been raining for a week straight and it was so cold. The worst part was that the Hufflepuff common room only had windows right by the ceiling, so all they could see was the wet grass and dead dandelions.

"Psst!"

Amora's head craned over her shoulder with a frown on her face, yet she saw nobody down the isolated hallway. She didn't think much of it since she wasn't a stranger to how strange her school could be sometimes and carried on down the hall, but then her name was called again. Amora froze, a grimace taking over. She knew that posh, arrogant voice from anywhere.

"What do you want, Draco?" Amora snapped as she turned around.

Draco's eyes widened and he grabbed her arm, pulling her around the corner that he had hidden in. Her heart nearly skipped a beat when their chests pressed together, but Draco shoved her away, clearly not meaning to tug her as hard as he did. Amora snapped her arm out of his cold grasp, sending daggers his way.

"I'm starting to think it's you that has a crush on me!" Amora growled. "If you want someone to leave you alone, you should probably start by leaving them alone first."

Draco's face scrunched up. "As if I would ever like you," he scoffed. "Get over yourself, Buckley. I need my jumper back. Some first year spilt milk down my other!"

Amora only then realised that he was in his shirt, tie, trousers, and robes and not his vest. His white shirt somehow made him look even paler than usual. She didn't realise how much the grey jumper had actually given him colour.

"Yeah, when do you need it?" Amora grumbled.

"Now," he insisted. "In case you haven't noticed, Hogwarts isn't the warmest of institutions."

She sighed. "Yeah, yeah. I can get it. It's in my dorm, though."

Draco shoved her lightly, waving his hands at her to move. "Go on, then. I don't have all day. I'll follow you to make sure you don't think about heading straight to lunch."

The brunette mimicked his words under her breath as she rolled her eyes and started to head towards the dungeons where the Hufflepuffs resided. She made sure that Draco heard her awful impression of him, purposely forcing her accent to become ten times more articulate. She heard him scoff behind her, but he said nothing.

It looked strange to people walking by to see a furious Amora Buckley storming to her room with Draco Malfoy hot on her tail, looking less than impressed. They walked past the kitchens where they could hear the bustling of elves inside, and over to the doorway of the Hufflepuff common room. Draco inspected it critically.

"I'll be right back," Amora sighed and tapped the barrel two from the bottom, middle of the second row, in the rhythm of 'Helga Hufflepuff'.

Draco watched quizzically, unsure why they didn't just have a password like Slytherin. The door shifted open, but before Amora could step inside, a red-haired girl he didn't recognise came out and looked less than pleased to see Amora.

"Hi, Susan," Amora clearly didn't recognise Susan's displeased expression as she moved to go past her, but the ginger grabbed her by the arm. "What?" Amora looked annoyed too now.

"Watch it," Draco hissed to Susan without thinking, glaring at the grip she had on Amora.

Both girls looked up at him in surprise, Susan's grasp loosening as fear made itself present in her eyes. Susan looked between Draco and Amora, a stammering mess, before something seemed to clock in her brain and she nearly screeched right there and then on the spot.

"The jumper!" Susan hissed, pointing an accusing finger at Amora who stepped backwards. "That jumper you have under your bed-- it's not some random Slytherin's! It's Malfoys!"

Amora began to stutter herself, trying to come up with some sort of excuse.

"Don't be so stupid, Susan, is it?" Draco growled. "As if I would lend my jumper to a lowly Hufflepuff. Buckley was going to give me the Charms homework."

It was Susan's turn to start stammering again. "I- I- Sorry, Malfoy. Sorry, Amora."

"Now run along," the white-blond haired boy hissed and Susan was scrambling to get away, not even looking back as she made her way towards the Great Hall.

Amora frowned after her, feeling slightly guilty. Susan didn't seem to like Amora much, but her accusation had been spot on, and she'd gotten shot down and humiliated for it. She sighed and decided against scolding Draco, not even looking at the Malfoy boy before she moved into the common room. Some people who weren't attending lunch loitered around, not even glancing up at Amora as she moved towards the girls' dorms.

Amora was glad to discover her bedroom empty as she went under her bed and retrieved Draco's folded item of clothing. She shook it and was glad to see that it was still clean, ready for Draco to wear today. She tucked it under her robes and took her time to get back to Draco, deciding that there was no point rushing around for somebody who wouldn't do the same for her.

When the door opened, she saw Draco leaning against one of the walls, an impatient look on his face as he stared at her, arms folded and foot tapping. He dove forward when she took his jumper out from its hidden location, grabbing it and shrugging off his robes-- after making sure nobody else was coming down the hall, of course.

"Merlin, Amora!" Draco huffed as he pulled it over his head. "It reeks!"

Amora couldn't help the offended look crossing her face. "What? No it doesn't!"

"Yes, it smells just like you," Draco continued, and Amora rolled her eyes, realising where he was going with it. "Awful."

"Oh, shut up, Draco," Amora shoved him, and not in a playful way. "You're awful. The least you could do is thank me-- that's what any decent human being would do."

"But Malfoy's not a decent human being, is he, Amora?" An arm wrapped around her shoulders, causing her to glance up and frown a little at Cedric who was smiling in a mocking way at Draco. "Are you, Malfoy?" He repeated louder.

Draco looked like he didn't know what to say for a second. Cedric may have been a Hufflepuff, but he was a sixth year one at that, and he had also gained the popularity of the entire school within the past few weeks. He couldn't lie and say that he wasn't intimidated as he swallowed, trying to keep the sneering look on his face but failing.

Amora shrugged her cousin's arm off of her shoulders in slight embarrassment. "Cedric, don't. I can deal with Draco by myself. He was going now, anyway."

The silver-eyed boy stared at Amora for a few seconds before he nodded and left, rushing down the hallway a little too speedily to be casual. He wasn't sure why Amora had defended him after he had been so rude to her, but he tried not to think about it too much. Reciprocating those actions would just be a burden.


	12. Chapter 12

"The Yule Ball has been a tradition of the Triwizard Tournament since its inception," Professor McGonagall explained to all of the fourth years and above sat inside the room, boys to one side, girls to the other. "On Christmas Eve night, we and our guests gather in the Great Hall for a night of well-mannered frivolity. As representatives of the host school, I expect each and every one of you to put your best foot forward, and I mean this literally because the Yule Ball is, first and foremost, a dance."

The girls began to whisper in excitement whilst the boys on the other side of the room seemed less than pleased. From where Amora sat beside Hermione, she was slightly surprised, but now Ron's dress robes from before were making a lot more sense.

"Silence!" McGonagall called and the whispers dissolved. "The house of Godric Gryffindor has commanded the respect of the Wizard World for nearly ten centuries. I will not have you, in the course of a single evening, besmirching that name by behaving like a babbling, bumbling band of baboons."

Amora smiled as she leaned with her chin on her arm. When she was younger, she used to attend dance lessons so she was pretty decent at it. Once she started Hogwarts, she stopped with her extracurricular and instead got far too into reading for her own good.

"Now, to dance is to let the body breathe," the woman made hand gestures. "Inside every girl, a secret swan slumbers, longing to burst forth and take flight. Inside every boy, a lordly lion prepared to prance. Mr Weasley?"

"Yes?" Ron glanced up from where he was sat in between Seamus and Harry, a worried expression written across his face.

"Will you join me, please?" There were snickers across the room as McGonagall hauled Ron onto his feet and led him into the middle of the room. "Now, place your right hand on my waist."

Ron looked horrified. "Where?"

"My waist," Professor McGonagall repeated, delicately moving her hands onto his shoulders as Ron hesitantly obeyed, earning a wolf whistle from the twins. "And your arm..." She guided it into her hand. "Mr Filch, if you please?"

The old caretaker didn't reply but moved to the large speaker, placing the needle down on the vinyl spinning. Classical music began to play as McGonagall counted them in, the teacher and the student moving around the empty floor, one much more unwilling than the other.

"Everybody come together!" McGonagall ordered. "Boys, on your feet!"

Neville was the first boy to stand, his worried eyes looking around for a partner. Amora was hunting for Leon, her most trusted male friend, although she would have been okay with Harry or Ron too. She froze in her tracks when she saw that he was already joining hands with Kathy. She'd known they'd always had a thing for each other, but she was a little disappointed nevertheless.

In the middle of a herd of students, Amora was looking around for a new partner, craning her head towards the sky and perching upon her tiptoes. She saw Harry shoving past some people, heading towards her. Her smile brightened, about to meet him halfway, when Hermione suddenly popped up in front of her and grabbed Harry's hand with a huff.

"Come on," she groaned, tugging Harry away without even noticing Amora. "Let's get this over and done with, then. Looks like Ron's stuck with McGonagall for the lesson!"

Harry was still staring at Amora as he was dragged away by his best friend, just long enough to see a flash of blond approaching her. Amora's eyes nearly widened when Draco appeared in front of her, but instead of looking at her, he was glancing over his shoulder.

"Look, you're not my first choice, Buckley, but I need a partner before Parkinson realises I'm free and comes hunting for me," Draco shuddered at the thought, glancing back towards her. "All your boyfriends seem pretty occupied, so this works in both our favour, I reckon."

Amora huffed and rolled her eyes when she realised he was most likely correct. She forcefully grabbed his hand and placed the other on his shoulder, having to crane her neck slightly to look up at him. Draco seemed surprised that she had even agreed to dance with him, let alone being the first to take action.

"You're so good with your words, Draco," Amora glared. "It's so flattering how you say I'm not your first choice and then practically demand I dance with you."

Draco smirked down at her. "Well, I wouldn't want to flatter you too much, would I? That wouldn't be fair on you."

The brunette nearly scoffed in disbelief, moving her feet in time with the music without looking down at them once. Draco seemed to be quite good at it too, or at least he hadn't stepped on her foot yet like most of the other boys had done to their dance partners. Despite their aggression behind their words, their dance was the most effortless and angelic of them all.

"Oh, so who would your first choice be, then?" Amora dared to ask.

Draco looked like he was trying to think about it for a second. "A Slytherin, of course. All the girls were taken besides Parkinson. But at least you're not a Gryffindor."

For a split second, Amora hated herself for thinking it, but she wondered if she had been selected for Slytherin if she would be his first choice then. No doubt would they get along better, and perhaps he would have picked her before any other Slytherin girl, too. At least she was still above Pansy Parkinson.

"Well, you're not exactly my first choice either," Amora tried to mess with his head like he'd somehow managed to mess with hers. "Nor second, nor third... Not even fourth."

Draco's jaw clenched and he pulled her forwards by the waist roughly, a misty look behind his silver eyes. She nearly gasped, feeling his fingers tighten slightly. Draco looked around them, locking eyes with Harry and grinning like the Cheshire Cat. He knew Amora would rather be dancing with Potter than him, and he had seen how quick Harry had climbed from his seat to find the Hufflepuff girl, but Draco had gotten there first.

This is to piss Potter off, he reminded himself.

If Harry got to be the Chosen One, if he got to be Dumbledore's favourite and won all the affection of their classmates which he had been promised as a child, then maybe Draco could hurt him this way.

Or maybe it was just an excuse to dance with Amora.

As Professor McGonagall paused at intervals to add more steps into their dance routine, both Draco and Amora remained silent and calm, thinking about how royally screwed they were for thinking differently of each other recently. They would never admit it, not even in their own heads, coming up with excuse after excuse as to why they needed to see each other.

Amora closed her eyes as Draco spun her, his cold fingertips delicately holding her warm ones. She thought about what it would be like if Draco wasn't so cruel. When they bumped into each other on the train on the first of September back in 1991, maybe he would have gently grabbed her arms and guided her to her feet, laughing with her at her clumsiness. Maybe he would have offered her a seat and they would have sat and talked for hours, becoming the best of friends, and then maybe more.

Amora froze at the thought, shocked that it had even popped into her head and becoming completely still in her place. Draco's body collided into her, a confused expression contorting against his face as he tore his hands off of her body.

"What are you doing?" Draco hissed.

But there the real Draco Malfoy was-- not the one she'd created in her head from an idea she'd gotten when he'd leant her his jumper that night. The real Draco Malfoy had shoved her off of him and mocked her in front of everybody and they'd become enemies. Enemies that leant each other jumpers and danced with each other at school.

"Nothing," Amora swallowed, grabbing his hand again and staring into the distance distractedly as they picked up where they left off, catching up with their classmates effortlessly. "You're not bad, Draco," Amora managed to clear her throat and ease the tension.

Draco smirked a little. "I know... but you're not bad either, Buckley."

"Gosh, please, just stop calling me Buckley," Amora muttered as she was twirled again. "I don't know why your obsession with surnames is, but I like my first name better, thanks."

Amora had noticed that even his friends referred to him by his last name, which confused her greatly. However, not Amora. Amora called everybody by their first names and only when she was really pissed at Draco did she snap his last name. Sometimes Draco called her by her first name, but most of the time it was 'Buckley'.

"Okay, Amora."

D.M + A.B

Amora released a stressed sigh as she ran a hand through her hair. It took everything inside her for her fingers to not slide down all the way to her ends and twiddle them into knots like she used to. The Yule Ball had only been announced hours ago and was already causing quite the drama for everybody inside Hogwarts-- including the Beauxbatons girls and Durmstrang boys. She didn't know who she was going to be going with yet. She thought maybe her and Leon could have gone as friends, but Kathy had already come running into the dorm later that night gloating about how excited she was.

"I can't believe it!" Kathy danced about, her socked feet prancing up and down the wooden floor. "Merlin, it's going to be so perfect, I can already feel it! Perhaps he'll even kiss me at the end of the night!"

Amora peered up from the Potions homework she'd been doing, visibly cringing at the idea of Leon kissing Kathy or anybody for that matter. Leon was handsome, there was no doubt about it, but he was like a brother to her. She couldn't count the number of times somebody had asked if they were dating, mainly from girls who were interested in having Leon for themselves.

"Are you okay with it, Amora?" Kathy asked, concerned when the Buckley girl hadn't joined in on all of the gushing the rest of the girls were doing.

The brunette jumped, snapping out of her daydream. "Of course! Why wouldn't I be?" She finished scribbling the characteristics to the Girding Potion, glancing back up.

"Well, a lot of people think that you like Leon, of course, and I--"

"What!?" Amora practically shrieked, making Kathy flinch. "I do not have a crush on Leon!"

"Oh," Kathy smiled. "That's good, then. So..." She perched down on the end of Amora's bed. "Who do you hope asks you? Harry?"

"Harry Potter?" The brown-eyed girl frowned.

"No, Prince Harry," Hannah joined in sarcastically. "Of course Harry Potter, stupid. Leon was talking about it the other day. He said Harry has a crush on you, and to be honest, I think you two would make the cutest couple."

Susan turned from where she was restitching a rip in her skirt by hand. She'd been catching her fingers on the needle all evening and hissing in pain, yet she wouldn't take any advice from Amora who used to sew with her mother years ago.

"I see it," the ginger-haired girl admitted.

"No, guys..." Amora blushed, shaking her head. "Harry and I are just friends."

"He's so sweet, though," Zena interjected, her dark eyes lighting up as she leaned forward on her bed, ready to gossip with the rest of the girls like they did most evenings. "So are you. That makes you compatible!"

"No, it's opposites attract, I swear," Kathy frowned.

"That's magnets, dimwit!"

Susan rolled her eyes. "Shut up, the two of you. Zena's right, Amora." Her eyes seemed to pierce right into Amora's as she spoke. "Opposites never end up working. Never."

Amora frowned, looking away. She couldn't help but feel like Susan was trying to warn her of something, and then she remembered that Susan had seen her with Draco the week before. She opened her mouth to protest and exclaim Draco meant nothing to her, but she couldn't bring herself to.

"I dunno, Susan," Hannah sighed. "That Hufflepuff and Slytherin couple in the two years above is really cute. You know, Leslie and Kalum?"

"Oh, just because Leslie's in Slytherin doesn't mean she's cruel, Hannah," Susan huffed. "That's a generalisation. Just like how not all Hufflepuffs are yellow-loving, smiley, ditsy idiots. They're barely opposites."

"Why are we even talking about this?" Amora cut them off, not wanting to think about Draco Malfoy for the rest of the night. "Yes, Harry's sweet, but maybe he's... too sweet? I don't know."

"Oh," Zena smirked, a mischievous look on her dark skin. "Amora likes a bad boy."

She blushed at the accusation. "I do not!" Her voice squeaked. "Harry's just... I don't know. He's not my type."

"Amora likes blond boys," Susan grinned, not missing the look the girl shot her.

"Who?" Hannah frowned.

"Draco Malfoy, I reckon!" Susan laughed, watching Amora's red face disappear into her hands. "Oh, come on, Amora. I know something is going on with you two. The Slytherin jumper. The way he was waiting for you outside the common room last week. How you danced together yesterday. He defended you in a flash when I grabbed you arm, too. Oh, and last year when Justin said he saw you and Draco in the hospital wing together!"

"I'd broken my arm," Amora recalled that day with a wince. "He'd been punched in the nose. It was a coincidence."

"Draco and Amora hate each other," Zena said.

Amora had never been so thankful for her. "Yes, what Zena said. I hate Draco, Draco hates me."

"There's a fine line between love and hate," Susan replied.

Amora settled back against her bed frame and thought about Susan's annoyingly true words. She didn't want to like Draco. He was the complete opposite of Harry. He was dangerous and mean and cold.

"Besides," Amora swallowed. "Like I said, the jumper wasn't his. He only wanted homework the other day, and he snapped at you because he's an arse. A-And we danced together because he wanted Pansy Parkinson off his back."

That was it, Amora convinced herself. There was a logical explanation for all of this.

And none of them included actually liking Draco Malfoy. Like the girls had said, Harry Potter was a much easier option. He was soft and gentle and he actually cared about Amora. Yet, still, even if Amora could see herself with Harry maybe in another life, she found herself thinking about a different boy before she fell asleep that night.

And he didn't have green eyes or brown hair or round glasses and a scar on his forehead. His skin was as icy as the rest of his features and he had a cruel smirk and liked to tease first years.

He was everything she should hate.


	13. Chapter 13

Amora sat on the other side of the desk in her mother's classroom, her cheek resting on her palm as she concentrated on the book in front of her. Professor Buckley was supposed to be meeting her any minute so they could spend some time together. With the new year starting up, Amora hadn't seen much of her mother yet-- they were both so busy with their individual lives and responsibilities.

"Amora," Professor Buckley breathed as she finally stepped foot through the classroom door, pulling off the gold and black scarf from around her neck. "It's freezing out. Do you still have the scarf and gloves I knitted you?"

"Yes, mother," Amora smiled, turning the corner of the page in her book and closing it. "They're in the trunk in my dorm."

"Good." Her mother moved around and sat down in her chair, opposite her daughter and only separated by the oak desk. "Bloody third years handing their essays in late..." She muttered, gesturing to the pile of parchments in front of them. "Would have thought they'd have stopped faffing about so late in their academic careers."

Amora smiled a little and shook her head as her mother charmed her quill to start marking the essays for her. One by one, the quill ticked off or crossed out parts of essays, filing them into another pile when completed. Despite having magic on her side, Professor Buckley still looked quite stressed, her nose and cheeks red from the cold weather and slight circles around her eyes.

"You okay, mum?" She asked.

"I'm fine," Professor Buckley spoke. "Sorry if I'm a bit all over the place, darling."

She shoved some keys into a drawer of her desk and then clasped her hands in front of herself, beaming at the girl who looked just like her when she was thirty years younger. Amora was dressed in her school uniform, her hair neatly brushed and her brown eyes gleaming as bright as ever.

"That's okay," Amora dismissed with a shake of the hand.

"Have you got a date to the Yule Ball yet?"

Amora groaned. "It was only announced yesterday, mum. No, not yet."

"Okay, okay, I was just wondering. My classes have been talking about it nonstop ever since," the Muggle Studies professor insisted. "I think lots of people already have dates."

"That's nice," Amora spoke before she tried to swiftly change the subject. "I actually needed some help with some homework, if you didn't mind?"

Professor Buckley straightened up in her seat. "Of course, sweetheart. What class?"

"Herbology..."

The mother and daughter were only twenty or so minutes into completing Amora's Herbology assignment when the door slammed open, revealing none other than Leon Holloway. The dark-haired boy came rushing over, sending a small smile to his Muggle Studies teacher before grabbing Amora's arm.

"Come on, Amora. I have to show you something," Leon exclaimed.

Amora tugged her arm back with a soft frown. "Leon, I'm doing homework--"

Leon glanced to Professor Buckley whose brows were raised in amusement. He lowered so that hopefully only the teenage girl would hear. Amora leaned in closer.

"There's a fight!" He hissed in a whisper.

Amora rolled her brown eyes. "Wow. That's brilliant," she muttered sarcastically.

"It's Malfoy and Harry!"

Amora practically jumped out of her skin. She didn't think as she stood up from her chair, calling over the scraping of it against the floor to her mother that she would be back soon. Leon grabbed Amora's hand and dragged her down the hall. Slowly, the voice of Harry grew louder, but she was unable to make out all of it.

Taking advantage. Nothing but a bully. Will hurt Amora. Arrogant asshole.

Amora found them standing towards one of the more desolate hallways of Hogwarts, especially this late in the afternoon. Ron and Hermione stood to the side, looking as uncomfortable as ever, and Blaise Zabini was behind Draco. Harry and the blond boy stood in the centre, Draco glaring down at the shorter boy while Harry puffed his chest to make himself seem bigger.

"Shh," Leon grabbed her and brought her around the corner and out of sight. "If you show up they might stop."

"Leon, what if it gets physical--" Amora's concern was cut off by a hand over her mouth, making her roll her eyes again.

"Are you really this pressed over a school jumper, Potter?" Draco chuckled darkly as he spat the Chosen One's last name like it was vomit in his mouth. "You need to get your priorities straight. Although, they always have been quite wonky, isn't that right?"

Harry's jaw clenched. "What are you on about?"

"Last year," Draco spat back. "When you practically left Amora for dead after she'd tried to save your pathetic arse."

Amora remembered the events of that day. How she'd woken up after falling asleep reading a book to see Hermione punching Draco in the face, followed swiftly by the execution of Buckbeak, Scabbers biting Ron, and then... the Whomping Willow incident. She winced at the memory, feeling like her previously broken bones were practically aching at the mention.

It was something that Amora had never brought up once she left the hospital. She wasn't necessarily traumatised, but she had been left alone and confused, waking up to Hagrid carrying her and her only support being Madam Pomfrey and Draco bloody Malfoy.

When Ron joined her in the Hospital Wing later, Harry and Hermione were all over him, which she understood-- he was the third piece to their trio. They asked if she was okay too, of course, Harry offering her some sweets, but they never mentioned what had actually happened.

Harry shoved Draco. "You don't know anything--"

"I know you left Amora there whilst you went after Sirius Black--"

"I checked h-her pulse first, I was going to come back--"

"She could have died!" Draco suddenly yelled and everything went silent.

Amora found her heart skipping a beat. She wished it hadn't, but her eyes clenched shut and she found herself repeating his words over and over again in her head. Leon was looking at her in confusion, but Amora was too busy straining to hear the next part.

"But you're the hero, of course, Potter," Draco continued bitterly. "And who was there for her when Hagrid was the one to carry her body into the Hospital Wing? Not you, not Weasley, not Granger, not even Diggory or her sidekick Holloway. It was me, Potter."

He started to laugh. "Does that piss you off, hm? Does that make you want to punch me in the face? That it was me who held Amora's hand? That I was the one that leant her my jumper? Who I let sleep on my shoulder? Or danced with yesterday--"

Harry's fist suddenly flew forward and connected with the side of Draco's jaw. Amora jumped when she heard the smacking sound, followed by gasps from Ron and Hermione. Blaise struggled to hold Draco back as the blond dove forwards, ready to leave another scar on the Potter boy.

Amora moved to help when Leon grabbed her and raised a finger to his lips. Her pleading look went nowhere with her best friend.

"You think Amora would ever like you?" Harry laughed breathily, shaking his head as he adjusted his round glasses. "Somebody as cruel and vile as you, Malfoy? Amora's nice to everybody-- get over yourself."

Draco struggled to keep a calm face, fury and disgust causing his jaw to tremble and his nose to scrunch as he ripped himself from Blaise's grip. He shoved the dark-skinned boy back and grabbed Harry by the collar of his uniform, shooting Ron a warning glare when the redhead tried to step forward.

"And you think Amora would ever go for you?" Draco began to grin slyly. "I mean, for Merlin's sake, Potter! Everybody around you dies, and I don't think Amora has a death wish."

He could tell it struck a nerve with Harry who swallowed thickly. "I think she'd rather be with the good guy than with the future Death Eater."

Draco's pale face dropped and went as hard as stone. His grip on Harry's collar loosened enough for the green-eyed boy to rip himself away. Amora could practically feel the desperation rolling off of Draco but Blaise was already tugging him back again.

"Potter's not worth it, mate," Blaise muttered, glaring towards the Golden Trio. "He's not got a clue what he's on about, anyway."

"I think I know exactly what I'm talking about," Harry seethed, chest heaving with adrenaline as he scowled at the two Slytherin boys.

Draco looked like he wanted to say something else, but Blaise was tugging him away and hissing something unintelligible in his ear. Amora swallowed and moved quickly in the opposite direction, not wanting to see any of them anytime soon. 

D.M + A.B

Harry likes her. Harry Potter has a crush on Amora Buckley.

She'd always had her slight suspicions, but his fight with Draco in the hall had confirmed it. Amora was sure that Draco had fought back due to spite, saying that stuff about her to get under Harry's skin, and it had worked-- Harry had landed a harsh punch to Draco's jaw. The fact that he liked her so much to punch somebody perhaps should have made her feel giddy, but instead, it just made her feel uncomfortable.

Draco walked into the Great Hall the next morning with pale skin and a bruise blossoming on his jaw. It had transformed into a purple colour, only noticeable at certain angles. From where Amora sat at the Hufflepuff table, she could see it perfectly. For some reason, it made her angry.

Draco had said some shitty things to Harry as well, but maybe it was because Draco never hit Harry back. In fact, despite the fact that he had gloated about spending time with her like she was some prize, Draco had defended her. He'd brought up the Whomping Willow incident from last year and called Harry out-- sure, maybe it was to make Harry look like the bad guy, but still.

Amora didn't know where she was going with her thoughts. Did she like Draco or not? Was he as evil as she had originally thought? Everything was jumbled and different and Amora didn't like different. It made her feel sick to her stomach as she pushed her cereal around her bowl with her spoon, a glum expression on her face.

"What's got you down?" Cedric planted himself down in the seat next to Amora, something he rarely did now that she was in her fourth year. "Seriously, you look like somebody died or something."

Amora raised her eyebrows at her older cousin and sighed, letting her spoon fall into the milk and cereal. "It's nothing," she muttered.

"Nobody asked you to the Yule Ball yet?" Cedric grinned with a teasing pout. "Poor Amora."

"Go away, Cedric." Amora shoved him, rolling her eyes.

"Oo, touchy," Cedric glanced around the hall before he smiled again. "I'm going with Cho, thanks for asking."

Amora perked up a little. "Cho Chang?"

"Duh. The only Cho in the school."

Cho Chang was a beautiful Ravenclaw girl in the year above Amora. She seemed quite reserved but always offered smiles and wore the nicest outfits on the weekends. Amora wasn't surprised that Cedric had a crush on Cho, she seemed like she was lovely.

"Good for you," Amora said as one of Cedric's friend's called his name. "Go. I'm fine, I swear."

Cedric squeezed her shoulder as he climbed from the bench and moved away, further down the table. Amora instinctively found her amber eyes travelling back over towards the Slytherin table. When she locked with silver eyes, Amora quickly tore her gaze away, wondering what Draco was doing staring at her in the first place.

"Merlin, he's obvious, isn't he?"

Amora nearly jumped when she felt Hermione sit down beside her. It was not completely uncommon for the Gryffindor girl to move over to the yellow table, but only when Harry and Ron were being extra annoying. She assumed that they were being so today.

"Huh?" Amora frowned at her friend in obvious confusion.

"Malfoy," Hermione whispered lower. "He's been staring at you since he sat down, even when you were talking to Cedric!"

Amora's face burnt red. "No, he wasn't!" She detested. "Even if he was, it's definitely not like that."

Hermione reached out and grabbed Amora's hand. "Amora, I know that you know," she whispered, glancing in Harry and Ron's direction.

The brunet and the ginger both quickly ducked their heads to make it seem as though they hadn't been watching the two girls. Hermione rolled her eyes and turned back to Amora.

"Pathetic," she muttered under her breath. "Anyway, I know that you know about Harry and Malfoy's argument. Leon told me."

For Merlin's sake, Leon! Amora had honestly planned on just ignoring that it had ever happened until eventually she managed to forget about it and all of her problems just went away.

"And I know you don't like Harry back," Hermione whispered, watching Amora's face fall. "But it's okay!" Hermione quickly reassured her. "He's my best friend, so I understand how you feel. You love him like a brother, even though we know Harry feels differently. You are ready to admit that, aren't you?"

Amora sighed stressfully, rubbing her forehead. "I guess. I don't like to think about him liking me like that, though."

"Okay," the Granger girl continued. "It's alright that you don't like Harry back, but I just thought you should know that he's planning on asking you to the Yule Ball. Ron and I warned him not to, but he's absolutely smitten for you, Amora."

"Hermione, what do I do?" Amora whispered quickly. "I don't want to hurt him."

"I don't know," she admitted. "But when he asks, you have to let him down easy, okay? And tell me, are you planning on going with Malfoy?"

"Wha-- no!"

"Amora," Hermione warned. "That will kill him if you do. You heard how upset Harry got--"

"I'm sorry, Hermione, I love Harry, but I don't owe him," Amora spoke, "Did you hear the way he spoke about me? Like I was some sort of object that Draco was trying to steal from me? I'm sure he means the best, but he doesn't have a clue."

The other brunette nodded. "So what are you going to do?"

"I don't know, Hermione. I really don't know."

D.M + A.B

A week later, Amora had worked nothing out. She continued to avoid Harry like the plague, even if she'd silently forgiven him for talking about her like an object when he fought with Draco.

Speaking of the blond, he'd been staring all week, but ultimately said nothing. It was frustrating and exhausting, especially considering how Amora wasn't sure where her feelings settled with him anymore.

He pissed her off. Merlin, did he piss her off. But there was something about the way that he looked at her sometimes that made her want to shut him up by smashing her lips to his rather than hexing him into next week. The fact that she even thought like that sometimes made him annoy her even further, and that wasn't even really Draco's fault. It was her own stupid brain and hormones'.

Tensions were even higher and Hogwarts was a mess. Despite classes obviously still running like usual, all anybody could seem to talk about was the Yule Ball coming up and who was going with who. Amora was sitting in the courtyard, a large black coat wrapped around her as she read from her book. It was starting to get quite icy overnight, so Amora assumed it was due to snow soon.

She didn't mind. The brunette loved the snow. Down south, the snow came once every four years maybe, but up at Hogwarts, miles and miles away from home, it snowed nearly every single year. She loved the way it looked on the castle or the snowball fights that occurred in the quad during free periods. Hogsmeade on the weekends was even more beautiful, too.

"Buckley," Amora heard a voice she barely recognised, her eyes snapping up in slight fear.

Blaise Zabini was stood there in all his glory, smiling down at her-- although it was more like a half-smirk sort of thing. He was a dark-skinned boy with a buzzed haircut, full lips, and some of the clearest skin Amora had ever seen. Everybody said that he was vain; that he spent more of his time looking in the mirror than at other people. He was handsome and he clearly knew it, a silent arrogance to the boy that he carried with him wherever he went.

"It's a little cold to be out here, don't you think?" He asked, peering around the courtyard with furrowed brows.

Amora shrugged with a small smile. "I'm wrapped up warm."

"I can see that." Blaise's smile is so sly that Amora found her knees feeling weak, and her stomach fluttering with butterflies in the best possible way. "Nice scarf."

Amora had to stop herself from telling him that her mother had knitted it for her herself. She knew that he wouldn't care; he was Blaise bloody Zabini for Merlin's sake. She was pretty sure Blaise and his mother were part of one of the wealthiest families in the school. He'd probably think her homemade scarf was tacky.

"Thank you," she murmured, eyebrows raising when he offered her his gloved hand.

However, she didn't object. Amora mentally cringed when she heard herself giggle as she took Blaise's hand and let him pull her up. She guessed that old habits died hard and she must still feel something for her first and second year crush, or maybe it was just because he was drop-dead gorgeous. Blaise was definitely one of the most attractive boys in all of Hogwarts.

"So. I heard Montague asked you to the Yule Ball a couple of days ago."

Amora's heart nearly stopped at the memory. Graham Montague had cornered her after lunch three days ago and practically demanded that she went to the Yule Ball with him, thinking that his confidence would win her over. In all honestly, he just made himself look like a predator.

Especially considering the fact that he was in her cousin's year group but looked like he could be at least twenty-years-old anyway. He was the captain of Slytherin's Quidditch team and had an excessive amount of arm hair as well as the build of a bodybuilder.

"Yeah," Amora breathed, shuddering. "How do you know?"

"He'd been bragging about going to ask you in the common room the day before," Blaise admitted. "Quite frankly, the misogynistic pig spoke about you disgustingly. Like my mother's partners do to her. I understand how... sickening that must feel to be on the receiving end."

If Amora hadn't been giving heart eyes before then she certainly was now. Either Blaise was actually the perfect guy ever, or he knew exactly how to butter her up. She hoped it was the first one, but either way, she ignored the last thought-- maybe it would feel good to indulge.

"It is quite terrible," Amora sounded breathless as Blaise's smirk widened and he nodded.

"I bet," Blaise guided her through the courtyard and back into the building where it was significantly warmer. "And I do hope that this doesn't sound like I'm trying to do the whole saviour thing, but I would love for you to accompany me to the Yule Ball instead, Buckley."

Amora's heart nearly stopped in her chest. She could practically hear her eleven-year-old self screaming into her pillow, jumping up and down and begging her to say yes to the boy in front of her. Thoughts of Blaise's best friend went through her and she nearly frowned remembering Draco Malfoy.

He would never ask her anyway.

"Okay," Amora accepted, trying to stop her cheeks from heating up too much.

"Great," Blaise paused in the hall and turned, lifting her hand and pressing his full lips against it, maintaining eye contact. "I look forward to meeting you on the night, then, Amora."

He sent her a wink before he started off down the hall, leaving her stood alone and in disbelief. Her mind could barely wrap around what had just happened, but she knew one thing for sure—

neither Potter nor Malfoy would "win" her.


	14. Chapter 14

Draco lifted his head from the leather couch inside the Slytherin common room, his eyebrow quirking when he saw Blaise heading in with a smirk on his face. The Zabini boy peeled the black pea coat off of his body and flung it over the side of the couch Draco was on.

"What's got you looking so pleased?" Draco barely glanced at him before peering back down at the thick book in his hands.

"Well, I got a date to the Yule Ball," Blaise boasted, more than excited for Draco to start his questioning.

"I feel sorry for the poor girl," Draco remarked teasingly. "Well, go on, then. Tell me who you asked. Was it Greengrass?"

"No, not Daphne," Blaise's smirk widened. "A Hufflepuff, actually."

He watched in satisfaction as Draco's silver eyes seemed to darken. Despite denying it, Blaise was sure that his best friend had a crush on the small brunette who was always laughing with her friends. If Draco begged him not to, Blaise would cancel on Amora and then know for sure that he had a crush on her.

"Who?" Draco's grave tone implied he already had an idea.

"Amora Buckley," Blaise answered, not missing the way Draco's jaw clenched. "I think you know her. You sit beside her in Defence Against the Dark Arts, right?"

Draco gritted his teeth. "You bastard."

"You weren't going to ask her anyway, Malfoy," Blaise huffed. "I mean, despite that argument with Potter you made me swear not to tell anybody out, you say you have no feelings for Buckley! Unless... you do have feelings for her?" Blaise acted surprised. "I mean, just say the word and I'll let you have her, Draco."

The blond boy slammed his book shut so abruptly that Blaise nearly flinched. He stood from the couch, tucking it under his arm and heading towards his dormitory.

"Better than Potter going with her, I suppose," Draco sneered. "I hope you have a lot of fun with Buckley. Merlin knows she'll be a prude-- not the sort you look for, Zabini."

Draco ignored how hard it was for him to get the words out and started up the staircase, not looking back. He wouldn't give Blaise the satisfaction. As far as everybody else was concerned, Amora Buckley meant nothing to Draco Malfoy. 

D.M + A.B

Amora practically melted into her mattress as soon as she made it back to her dormitory, staring up at the oak ceiling of her canopy bed. Her coat had been dismissed to the floor beside her, her shoes kicked off messily by the door and her uniform still on as she laid above the covers, hands clasped on her stomach.

She thought about Blaise Zabini and bit her bottom lip delicately. At least now she had a solution to the Harry problem; she could tell him that she already had a date and it wouldn't be a lie either. She did feel sort of bad for Harry, but she didn't want to lead him on.

"You alright, Amora?" Hannah questioned as she left the bathroom, drying her hair off with a fluffy yellow towel.

"Mhm," the brunette nodded. "Just thinking."

"What about?"

"Well, I just got asked to the Yule Ball," she smiled a little, hearing a faint gasp from not only Hannah but also Kathy who was sat on her bed.

"By who?" Kathy sat up eagerly. "Was it Harry?"

Amora's eyes widened. "No. Why would it be Harry?"

"He was looking for you earlier," Kathy said. "He came by the common room but you weren't here. He seemed so nervous that we assumed he could only be looking for you for one thing!"

The brunette felt guilty as she sat back and shook her head. "No, it wasn't Harry. It was Blaise Zabini, actually."

"Another Slytherin," Hannah wiggled her brows with a giggle as she dropped her towel down onto her bed, referencing to Montague a few days ago. "You're lucky. They don't make good long term boyfriends, but gosh are they attractive. The Slytherin girls are so lucky, I swear."

"We're lucky too," Kathy frowned defensively. "Leon is the most attractive boy in our year group, easily."

"He is fit," Hannah agreed, "Cedric's pretty cute too. I guess we are lucky."

"Guys!" Amora whined, shaking her head as she planted it into her hands. "That's my best friend and my cousin you two are talking about. I didn't need to hear that."

"It's a compliment," Kathy giggled, "Anyway, do tell us what happened next with Blaise. Did you say yes?"

Amora beamed, blushing. "I did," she admitted, making the two girls gasp in excitement. "He was really... sweet about it. I think he's nicer than what people say."

Susan came waltzing into the dormitory, catching the last part of their conversation. She rolled her eyes as she shrugged off her coat and her cloak, dumping it on the edge of her bed.

"Gosh is it cold out there," the ginger-haired girl muttered, "And Harry's going to be crushed, Amora. I overheard him talking about asking you with Ron in the courtyard the other day."

Amora's heart sunk and her smile faded. The last thing that she wanted to do was hurt Harry. He might have said some things that had upset her, but at the end of the day, he was still one of her best friends and a good person. Teenage boys were bound to say dumb things sometimes.

"Well, do you think I should cancel on Blaise then?" Amora chewed down on her bottom lip anxiously. "I could warn Harry we're going just as friends so he doesn't get the wrong idea, then maybe at least he would feel better--"

"No way!" Hannah butted in. "I swear you've had a crush on Blaise since year one--"

"I stopped last year," Amora shook her head.

"Still!" Kathy added. "I love Harry, but it would be leading him on, Amora. He needs to realise that you appreciate him as a friend and nothing more and move on. Then he can be truly happy."

Amora sighed with a small frown and instead of thinking of Blaise or Harry, she thought about Draco. When did boys start to take over her life? Somebody must have slipped something into her drink or something because there was no way that she suddenly had Harry, Blaise, and Montague all wanting to take her to the Yule Ball.

"Wow, that's such a first world problem, Amora," Susan rolled her eyes again as she settled onto her own bed.

"Did I say that out loud?" Amora blushed.

"Imagine your problems being that too many boys wanted to ask you out--"

"Stop, Susan," Kathy scolded. "You're just being jealous."

"Am not."

"I was just saying. I don't want to ruin my friendship with Harry, that's all," Amora frowned, stopping the two from bickering.

"Just ignore Susan, Amora," Kathy said softly, earning a glare from the ginger. "It's valid for you to feel a little overwhelmed. Just follow your heart."

Amora's heart didn't say Blaise anymore than it said Harry though. In fact, she found herself falling asleep with Draco Malfoy in her head for yet another night, much to her dismay.

D.M + A.B

Potions with Snape was one of Amora's least favourite lessons. It wasn't that she was bad at the subject or that it didn't interest her, but it was because of the teacher himself. Professor Snape could be genuinely terrifying sometimes, and when she found out that he was Neville's Boggart last year, she lost a lot of respect for him. Teachers shouldn't be scary enough to be a student's biggest fear.

Today they were brewing a Calming Draught potion. They'd been learning about it theoretically for the last lesson or two, and now Snape had instructed them to make it in pairs since it was quite advanced.

Amora had her notes sprawled out in front of her and her hair back in a messy ponytail. Loose strands framed her face and fell in front of her eyes every now and then, causing her to blow air from her lips and roll her brown orbs. Leon was working next to her, lips pursed in concentration as he cut the bloodroot stems up lengthwise.

"Blaise Zabini, huh?" Leon murmured after a few minutes, his voice barely heard over the quiet chit chat going around other students in the classroom.

Amora furrowed her brows, wondering how he had found out. She realised that Kathy must have mentioned it to him, seeing as the pair had been hanging out more often since he asked her to go to the Yule Ball with him. Amora thought they were cute together.

"He's... sweet to me," Amora shrugged, not looking up as she added fluxweed oil to warm water, counting the number of drops in her head.

"You don't like him again, do you?" Leon asked.

"No," Amora admitted quietly, "What does it matter, anyway? You're not going to lecture me about Slytherins, are you? We're all just kids--"

"I wasn't going to say that," Leon cut her off. "I was going to say that if you're happy with him being your date, then I'm happy for you, too. I just thought that you and Potter would have made a better couple."

Amora groaned quietly and rolled her eyes. "Would you believe me if I said you're probably the fourth person to tell me that?" Her lips quirked up in a teasing manner. "Amora Potter doesn't even sound good," she joked.

"Amora Potter," Leon tested it for himself before he grimaced and shook his head. "You know what? You're right. Screw Harry."

The brunette giggled and shook her head, shoving her taller friend's shoulder. Her small laugh had attracted the attention of Snape who was now scowling at them from the front of the classroom. Amora quickly distracted herself with her notes again.

"I'll get the Valerian root," she whispered before she headed towards where all of the ingredients were at the back of the classroom.

As her brown eyes scanned all of the jars and pots, she felt a presence beside her and nearly jumped when she realised that it was Harry. Her cheeks heated up in what she guessed was guilt since it had been just over a week since she had last spoken to him.

"Hey," Harry whispered awkwardly, his hands skimming over jars to make himself look busy for Snape who was watching.

"Hi," Amora murmured back, her eyes landing on the Valerian root.

She reached forward and picked up the glass jar, trying to get the lid undone. Amora bit her lip and tried harder when it didn't budge, even wiping her hands down her robes. Harry hesitated before he held his hand out.

"Here, let me," he proposed.

Amora handed it over to him. "Thanks," she scratched the back of her neck awkwardly as Harry managed to pull the jar off after a few seconds. "Thanks... again."

She plucked out some of the ingredients and put it into a container so she could take it back to her desk with Leon. Harry gently reached to clasp her wrist before she could go.

"Um, Amora, I just wanted to apologise for whatever I did that's made you avoid me," Harry said sincerely, making the brunette's heartache. "I- I can assure you that whatever I did to hurt you, I didn't mean it. And I was wondering if you would like to go to the Yule Ball? With- with me?"

Amora winced. "I'm sorry, Harry..."

Harry's face contorted into an expression of pain and embarrassment. "Is that a no, then?"

"Oh, Harry," she felt like she could cry. "I already said yes to somebody else. I'm sorry--"

"Potter. Buckley," Snape's deep voice drawled from the front of the room. "Lesson time is not for mindless chit chat. Please return to your partners immediately."

Both teenagers muttered apologies under their breaths before they darted back to their original seats. She pulled out the Valerian roots and got back to work immediately, hoping that working on her potion would distract her from the look in Harry's eye when she told him she already had a date to the Yule Ball.

D.M + A.B

Amora felt too guilty to sit at the Gryffindor table with the Golden Trio at dinner that night so she remained at her own, practically hugging her cloak to her chest as she picked at her food. Leon and Kathy were laughing obnoxiously loud beside her, unable to keep their hands off of each other.

She glanced up when she felt eyes on her over at the Slytherin table. Blaise sent her a small wink which caused her cheeks to heat up and her eyes to avert back to her food. She tucked her hair behind her ear, hoping that on the night of the ball that she wasn't as nervous as she was right now.

"Amora?" Harry took a seat in front of her, making her eyes widen a fraction. His voice was soft and regretful and he was looking at her longingly, regret behind his glasses. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Of course, Harry," Amora nodded.

"The person who asked you... It wasn't Malfoy, was it?" He asked, and Amora felt her heart speed up at the idea.

"No. It was Blaise," Amora replied.

Harry's face dropped. "What?" His voice lowered and he moved closer towards her, brows knitted together. "Amora... Please don't tell me you buy it? You're smarter than that, right?"

The petite brunette seemed offended at whatever he was implying. "Huh?"

"Blaise and Draco are best mates. Obviously this is just to get back at me," Harry insisted desperately. "Why else would he ask you?"

Harry's eyes widened when he realised how bad that sounded out loud. The crushed expression on Amora's face was enough to wrench the gut of even Professor Snape himself. She felt tears burn in her eyes and she swallowed thickly, attempting to not let any fall.

"Well, I was thinking that he asked me because he thought I was pretty or clever or kind," Amora's voice wobbled in a mixture of anger and hurt. "Or something of that sort."

Leon glanced over, unwrapping his arm from Kathy's waist and frowning at Harry. "That's not cool, mate."

Harry looked between the pair of best friends, panicked. "I meant because Malfoy has it out to get me! I mean, Malfoy only does nice things for Amora sometimes so that I get pissed off because we're friends, he doesn't mean those things. He uses you."

Amora felt herself getting choked up and stood abruptly from her seat before she could start sobbing in front of the entire Great Hall. A few tears slid down her cheeks as she shook her head at Harry.

"Why would you want him to do nice things for you, anyway?" Harry tried to mend what he had done, standing up too. "Malfoy's cruel--"

"Draco was right, though," Amora snapped, aware that the Hufflepuffs around her and some of the Gryffindors were now watching. "When he said that you left me by the Whomping Willow that day. He was right when he said he was the one that held my hand when I felt like I was dying too. So maybe he's not as cruel as you'd like to think, Potter."

Leon's eyes widened when Amora used his last name rather than his first. She rarely ever referred to anybody by their last name, she always said it was impersonal and too old-fashioned for her.

"Amora, I--"

"Just leave it." Amora shook her head at him before she left the hall, unaware that perhaps more people had been watching than she had initially thought.

Draco watched her body retreat and tore his silver eyes from the doors and back to Harry who stood like an idiot by himself. He felt his hands clench on top of the oak table and he felt the need to go after her and make sure that she was okay. But he didn't.

Amora was none of his business.


	15. Chapter 15

Bloody hell, Draco. You're so annoying. I hate you. I hate your perfect blimmin' hair and the way you do that stupid half-smirk when one of your friends says something funny because you're too fucking stubborn to actually laugh. Oh, and that thing you do where you rest your chin on your jaw and look so innocent but I know for a fact that you're not—

"Amora." Leon waved his hand in front of the brunette's face, snapping her out of the daydreaming state that she had previously been in.

Draco and Amora hadn't spoken to each other since he danced with her in McGonagall's lesson just over two weeks ago, and she assumed it had something to do with the fight he'd had with Harry. Not that they'd normally talk anyway-- this year was the most that they'd ever spoken. However, no rude remarks or even glares had come her way.

It was quiet. Too quiet.

"Something interesting on the Slytherin table, Amora?" Leon teased. "Blaise Zabini, perhaps?"

Immediately, Amora went to dismiss Leon's accusations, but her best friend was met with a soft whack to the side from Kathy. The girl with uncontrollably blonde curly hair pushed her glasses up her nose and frowned.

"Leave Amora alone," Kathy insisted.

Amora very nearly shook her head, but she decided it was best to just go along with it. No way would she ever admit that she'd been watching the blond boy next to Blaise. How she'd been secretly gushing over every single move he made, from the way his fingers flexed when they reached up to brush his hair out of his face or the way he dressed so smartly despite it being the weekend.

"Has Harry apologised yet?" Leon questioned, "It was rather hard to ignore him in Charms yesterday, considering he kept turning around in his seat to talk to me."

It had been an entire week since Harry had humiliated her in front of all of her friends and she hadn't necessarily been avoiding him, but any time their paths crossed, which happened to be quite often considering they shared some of the same classes and friends, they both seemed to look away from each other. Harry seemed just as embarrassed as she was upset.

"Hannah said he came to the dorms the other day and asked for me, but I didn't go down and see him," Amora admitted.

"Why not?" Leon frowned. "Don't you want to sort this out?"

"Yes! No- I don't know?" Amora huffed. "At the time, I was still very upset. I mean, he implied that Blaise was using me to get to him! I can't say that it doesn't play on my mind every now and then. I hope he's not right."

"He isn't." Kathy reached across Leon and placed her hand on top of Amora's. "Harry's been acting out of jealousy a lot when it's come to you recently, I think this is just something you're both just going to have to talk out."

Leon pointed a finger at her. "I know you hate it, but sometimes confrontation is key. Tell him straight up: Harry, I don't like you like that. Let's still be friends. Things will go back to normal-- he'll stop acting so weird around you."

She missed the old Harry-- the one that she could hang out in the library with for hours or sit with at lunch without feeling like she was hurting him for not liking him back. Discovering his interest in her had created an awkward divide in their friendship. The faults were a mixture of Amora's uncomfortableness and Harry's jealousy.

"When?" Amora chewed on her bottom lip, knowing that Leon did serve a good argument.

"How about now?" He hissed, smacking her arm when he saw that Harry was heading towards them.

Amora straightened up and cleared her throat, looking up at Harry as he stood on the other side of the Hufflepuff table, making some people stare. She pursed her lips, waiting for him to say something.

"Amora, can- can I talk to you?" Harry asked, looking around at the Hufflepuffs staring at him before adding, "alone."

The brunette nodded as she slid out of the bench and started to head towards the exit of the Great Hall. Amora heard a wolf whistle come from someone on the Gryffindor table and she realised that it's one of the twins. Fred had his hands cupped around his mouth and George winked with a thumbs up.

Her cheeks blazed red at the discovery that the Weasley twins had earned them the attention of plenty of students. She was sure that they meant no harm, but it made her feel even tenser. She hoped Harry didn't get the wrong impression by her silence, or the way that she grabbed his wrist and moved to tug him out of the room of preteens and teens even quicker.

"Sorry about them," Harry muttered as she released his wrist.

"It's fine," Amora said quietly, avoiding his gaze until he cleared his throat awkwardly.

"I'm also sorry about what I said last week," Harry admitted, "It was wrong of me to say that. I- I think you know why I did."

Amora frowned, hating how down Harry appeared. She missed him so much and she hated that she didn't feel the same way about him. Everything would be so much easier if she did. 

"Because you... like me?" Amora whispered, hesitant to say it out loud in the tiniest chance that he was wrong and he would laugh in her face. 

However, the way that Harry glanced to the ground and scrunched his nose so his glasses didn't fall down further made her heart hurt. He swallowed before he looked back up at her, lips slightly pursed and a concerned look on his face. 

"I- I didn't know how to tell you," Harry admitted, "I think it's just a silly crush, I-- It's just, well, you've always been there for me and-- I don't know why I'm saying all of this. It doesn't excuse how I embarrassed you or made you uncomfortable--"

Suddenly, Amora was jumping into his arms, causing the brunet's eyes to widen as he stumbled back a little. He hugged Amora tight, brows furrowed. He used his hand to push his circular glasses back up, his eyes widened. 

"U-Um?" Harry patted her back somewhat awkwardly.

"Harry, you are one of my best friends," Amora stated boldly, grabbing him by the sides of his head and forcing him to look her in the eye. "Your friendship means the world to me. I'm flattered that you like me, I really am, and any girl would be extremely lucky to have you, and we shouldn't let us come between us like it has been for the past month or so. I want things to go back to how they were."

Harry sighed in relief. "Me too. I miss spending time with you."

Amora beamed as she released his head and grabbed his shoulders. "I missed you too. I don't want you to be upset now, Harry. You have to promise me that you're going to be okay when we go our separate ways?"

The thought of Harry lying in bed awake, upset over her, made her heart hurt. Her sympathetic side, which she thought took up most of her system, didn't want that for anybody. It was the worst feeling in the world to be surrounded by your peers, trying to muffle your sobs into your pillow when all you wanted to do was scream and throw things.

"I'll be fine," Harry smiled wearily. "I promise."

"Give me a hug," Amora mumbled, grabbing him again. "I love you, Harry. A-And I hope you realise how hard it was for me to say this to you. You're the last person I ever want to hurt."

Harry was silent for a few seconds as he clung to her. "I love you too, Amora," he said. "And you haven't hurt me. Not too badly, anyway," he joked. "I'm just glad that you're not running away from me or pretending to be sick in my face like I imagined."

Amora scoffed and elbowed him as she pulled away. "You're a weirdo," she teased.

"All right, says the girl who makes knots in her hair when she's nervous!"

"Hey!" Amora laughed and whacked his arm playfully. "I stopped doing that."

D.M + A.B

December coming around the corner was an utter relief to Amora. Four months or so into the repetitive routine of school was starting to drive her mad, but seeing the corridors dressed up so festively and the excitement in her peers' faces was keeping her on her toes. They were a few days into her favourite month of the year and Amora was doing well in all of her classes-- she'd even managed to bring up her marks in Herbology with some extra revision and help from Neville.

Her only issue was Defence Against the Dark Arts. It wasn't that she was getting bad marks or even Professor Moody, but it was the boy she sat next to. It had been nearly a month since they danced with one another in McGonagall's lesson, and Draco hadn't spared her a single word since. Neither had Amora, to be fair, a little too put off by the fight she'd witnessed between Harry and Draco the day after.

Deep down she thought that Harry had to be right; Draco had to be using her to make him jealous. There was no other logical explanation for any of it. 

In their lessons, Amora ignored Draco and Draco ignored Amora. It wasn't that awkward-- they just acted like the other didn't exist. He turned around to speak to Crabbe and Goyle, and Amora doodled in a spare notebook or looked to her right to converse with Harry and Ron sometimes.

"Your nose is red!" Amora laughed at Ron, earning a small shove from the ginger boy as they walked through the courtyard of Hogwarts.

Harry, Hermione, Leon, and Kathy were with them, the group of six having returned only ten minutes ago from a trip to Hogsmeade. They'd decided to try and do a Secret Santa between them, however, Ron and Amora both couldn't handle not knowing who each other had, and ultimately spoiled it for everyone by process of elimination.

Now, the four walked in front of them, Hermione particularly frustrated. Amora beamed as she jogged to catch up with her friend, linking her arm.

"Aw, please don't be mad at us, Hermione," Amora pouted and did her best puppy eyes. "Ron and I didn't mean to spoil it--"

"You both sat at the table with quill and paper and worked out every single one!" Hermione protested.

Amora smiled sheepishly whilst Ron smirked and threw an arm over both the girls' shoulders. "I think that makes us a pretty good detective duo, don't you, 'Mora?"

The brunette laughed. "Yes, yes it does. Pleasure doing business with you, Ronald."

Hermione barely managed to keep the smile of amusement off of her face, shaking her head at her two friends. Harry was also laughing, but Kathy and Leon seemed to be in their own little bubble, hands connected as they walked ahead of the group unknowingly.

The snow crunched beneath their feet and Amora kicked some up at Harry walking a pace in front. The boy turned around in a flash, furrowing his brows at her.

"Oh, you'll pay for that!" Harry laughed, rushing towards one of the benches to scoop as much snow off of it as he could.

Amora screeched as she ran to take cover behind Ron and Hermione at the very last second. It resulted in the glasses-clad boy hurdling a ball of ice at his best friends instead, making Hermione yell out whilst Ron muttered a, "blimmin' hell that was cold, Harry!"

Harry had no time to apologise before Amora threw a snowball of her own in his direction, watching it land right on his chest. He looked down and then back up at her, feigning a glare.

"Come back here, Amora!" Harry laughed, chasing after her as she began to head for the entrance of the school.

Amora turned around for a split second when she hit something, or rather, someone. She yelped as they both fell to the ground, Amora lying on top of them as she moved to get up and brush her hair out of her face. Her brown eyes bulged at the sight of Draco Malfoy on the floor, looking absolutely horrified and furious.

This had to be some sort of awful nightmare.

Harry chose to catch up with her right then, his laughs dying out when he realised why she had stopped. Amora was reaching out to help Draco off the ground and Harry swore the blond boy was about to accept her hand when his silver eyes locked on Harry and he scowled even deeper, choosing to shoot Amora a glare and get up himself instead.

"Of course," Draco snapped, brushing his weekend clothes down. "Do you two idiots ever watch where you're going?"

He referred to the very start of the school year when Ron had shoved Harry into Amora, who had consequently stumbled into the back of Draco's shoes. It reminded Amora of the first time they'd met too-- when the train had jerked beneath her and she ended up practically on top of him.

"I'm sorry, Draco," Amora exclaimed, "I looked away for one second and suddenly--"

"I didn't ask," Draco huffed back but Amora felt like there was no venom behind his words for once... he seemed frustrated more than anything.

"She was just apologising--"

"It's okay, Harry," Amora cut him off softly, placing her hand on Harry's arm without tearing her eyes away from Draco who swiftly cast his eyes around them. "Let's just go."

Hermione and Ron finally caught up with them, looking strangely at Draco as they followed Amora and Harry through the entrance and into the warmth of Hogwarts. Amora looked over her shoulder and found Draco already looking back.

D.M + A.B

There were only two weeks before the Yule Ball and Amora quickly realised that she didn't have any dress robes for the occasion, despite it being on the list of things to have that Hogwarts had sent out before the school year. It turned out that Kathy had nothing to wear either, so the two Hufflepuffs had met up with Hermione before the three of them headed to Hogsmeade for the weekend, wrapped up in hats and scarves and some money in their pockets.

"Just so you know, you don't have to worry about Harry anymore, he's going to the ball with Pavarti Patil," Hermione said gently as they walked past Tomes and Scrolls, chuckling when she saw that Amora was distracted by the books in the window. She patted Amora's shoulder. "Did you hear what I just said?"

"Hm?" Amora glanced over. "Sorry, I was distracted."

"Amora's been daydreaming quite a bit for the past few days," Kathy said.

Amora shot a small look at Kathy, but the girl just shrugged in turn.

"It doesn't matter, anyway," Hermione insisted. "Nothing important. Oh! Did you hear that Ron tried asking Fleur Delcour to the Yule Ball? He was practically paralysed when he got rejected."

"Poor Ron," Kathy murmured. "Wait, if you're not going with Ron, then who are you going with, Hermione?"

Hermione blushed, glancing away from the two girls. Amora glanced up, realising that she had yet to ask her friend that question also. She had also just assumed that the Gryffindor girl would be going to the Yule Ball with Ron.

"Don't tell the boys," Hermione made them promise. "Ron will freak out. I'm going with Viktor Krum."

Both Amora and Kathy gasped loudly. "Hermione!" Kathy exclaimed. "He's so old!"

Hermione huffed. "I am quite mature, though."

Amora gave her friend a small smile. "As long as you're happy. You should be able to go with whoever you want."

There was a small silence before Hermione bumped shoulders with Amora lightly. "So should you, you know."

"Hm?"

Hermione rolled her eyes but smiled in amusement. "Malfoy, Amora. I know why you were so upset when Harry said what he did, and I do think that Harry was wrong. When they were fighting, Draco had this look in his eye when he spoke about you. And he gave you his jumper, for Merlin's sake! It makes me wonder how long he's felt this way."

Whilst Amora was stunned into silence, Kathy gasped loudly. "So the jumper did belong to Draco! Susan wasn't lying!"

Amora giggled and shook her head. "It's a long story."

"It's romantic," Hermione insisted, earning a small glare. "Oh, Amora. You must admit that it's something we would read in one of our novels. I think Draco's scared to fall for you, that's why he's so reluctant."

"She's a Pure-blood, though," Kathy frowned. "Why would he be afraid?"

"She's also Hufflepuff, not to mention close friends with Harry," Hermione interjected, "She's everything that Draco's not. They're opposites-- It's quite sweet if you think about it."

"Can we stop talking about this?" Amora asked quietly. "We're here for dresses, and in case you forgot, my date isn't Draco-- it's Blaise. What colour do you reckon he would like on me?"

"You suit any colour," Kathy insisted as they stopped outside the window of the dress shop that they had been looking for. "Oh, that burgundy one is stunning."

"It would look beautiful on you, Kathy," Amora replied, her eyes trailing around and landing on one towards the back of the store. "Let's go inside."

When Hermione pushed the door open, the bell above the door made a shrill ringing sound. It seemed that the woman who owned the quaint dress store filled with some of the most beautiful gowns that Amora had ever seen was already distracted with another group of girls also buying dresses last minute. Whilst Kathy and Hermione gushed over the burgundy dress that Kathy had spotted, Amora found herself drifting over to another one.

It looked like something out of a Renaissance painting or an illustration from one of the very old princess books Amora's mother used to read to her. It was a floor-length muted-blush coloured gown with a corset bodice, the material slightly transparent in the middle. The entire thing was decorated with silver and gold stars that glittered in the light of the shop, and on the mannequin's arms were detachable sleeves, a slit through the skirt where the leg protruded.

"Oh, darling," Madam Opal gushed, moving over and pulling at the material of the skirt. "This dress would look beautiful on you. I can already see you in it!"

Amora was well aware that Madam Opal would say that about any dress in the room to get her to buy it, but the old woman's voice still made her smile slightly. It had attracted the attention of Hermione and Kathy who came walking over, gasping.

"Amora, she's right," Hermione's eyes lit up. "It's stunning!"

"Do you think the stars are too much?" Amora questioned.

"Nonsense!" Madam Opal protested although the question was directed towards her friends. "The stars are what make the dress, Miss Buckley! It gives it a... unique touch. Something I am sure will leave your date to the ball with his jaw hung open!"

Amora chuckled politely. "Am I allowed to try it on?"

"Of course, Miss Buckley."

She was ushered behind a red curtain at the back of the store and onto a small podium of sorts. She slipped the dress on and pulled it up before Madam Opal entered and did the back up for her, helping her to slip on the sleeves. With a flick of her wand, the dress tightened and moved to fit Amora's petite size, the bottom of the dress shrinking up by inches.

"Oh, my!" Madam Opal gasped dramatically. "Miss Granger, Miss Redsoft, come! See your friend!"

The curtain was slowly pushed back and Amora heard two quiet gasps. "Amora!" Hermione beamed, "You... You look beautiful."

"Stop," Amora blushed, brushing her hand down the material of the skirt. "Are you sure?"

"I think I've been crushing on the wrong best friend," Kathy exclaimed. "Never mind Leon, you look ethereal, Amora."

"Ethereal," Amora repeated under her breath in awe, and then Madam Opal grabbed her by the shoulders and steered her to turn around.

A huge mirror showed the dress on her body in all its glory. She didn't want to toot her own horn, but it did look really good on her. The blush colour against her skin went well despite the fact that her summer tan was starting to fade. She didn't even realise that she was smiling until she glanced up at her face.

"I love it," Amora admitted, "I'll take it."

Kathy tried on the burgundy dress and also ended up falling in love with it, whilst Hermione insisted she had a dress of her own back in her dormitory. The two Hufflepuff girls paid and left the shop, bags tucked in their arms and beams on their faces.

"Madam Opal was right, Blaise isn't going to be able to look away all night," Kathy insisted. "You'll be the most beautiful couple on the dance floor, that's for sure."

Amora beamed at the thought. Only a few days were left and she would be walking down the staircase into the hall. She hoped that he would take her hand at the bottom, maybe kiss it like he did when he asked her to go with him, and then ask her to dance. Maybe even when he went to get drinks he would keep his arm around her waist, proud to show her off to his Slytherin friends despite the fact that she was just a Hufflepuff.

Once the girls arrived back at Hogwarts, dresses in bags, as well as a few bagfuls of sweets from Honeydukes, Amora and Kathy parted ways with Hermione to go back to the Hufflepuff dorm where it was bright and cheerful; members of every year group hanging around and doing all sorts-- studying, listening to music, playing board games, reading, simply sat around talking...

Cedric was watering one of the large plants hanging from the ceiling when he saw his younger cousin haul her bag through the entrance to the common room. He lowered the watering can and smiled as he moved over, clamping a hand down on her shoulder before she could disappear up into her dormitory.

"What's in the bag, Buckley?" He teased.

Amora rolled her eyes with a small smile. "A dress."

"Oo." Cedric raised his brows. "For me?"

"Here," Amora said, gesturing for him to open his palm.

Cedric did so and was surprised when a few sweets poured into them. He grinned excitedly and went to pop one in his mouth when he pulled it back, squinting his blue eyes at her.

"These aren't one of the Weasley twins' creations, are they?" He asked sceptically, "I've seen what they've been up to the past few months."

"No," Amora laughed, "I wouldn't take a sweet from them even if they begged me."

Cedric cautiously popped the strawberry flavoured sweet into his mouth and waited for a few seconds before he dictated that he was okay. His tongue wasn't going to blow up to the size of a house and his skin wasn't going to suddenly break out with severe acne.

"Thanks, 'Mora," he mumbled with his mouth full, patting the top of her head as if he was her father or something.

Amora swiped his hand away before she retreated up the stairs with Kathy, the two of them dropping their bags onto their beds.

"Let me see, let me see." Hannah came running over, her eyes widening when Amora pulled the dress out to show her. "Oh, gosh, Amora! Blaise is going to not be able to resist you!"

Right, Blaise.


	16. Chapter 16

The fourth year Hufflepuff dormitory reeked of five different perfumes and hairspray and was filled with laughs and the sound of music that Zena insisted were her 'feminist anthems.' Zena knew lots of Muggle music, considering she was a Muggle-born herself, and she always played it around the dorm.

It was finally Christmas Eve, also the day of the Yule Ball. Amora had spent most of the morning relaxing around the common room with Leon and Kathy before the girls headed up to get ready.

Amora stood in the bathroom beside Susan, the two girls using the lighting to apply their makeup. The brunette girl didn't mind makeup; usually, she wore mascara and some concealer and blush, but she was too lazy to do a whole routine most days. Today, however, Amora had used her artistic skills to apply a rosy colour to her eyelids and a darker colour to her lips.

"You do look beautiful, Amora," Susan murmured from beside her.

Amora beamed over at the ginger girl. "Thanks, Susan." She noticed the sad expression on her face and frowned. "Are you all right?"

"I just-- I-- I'm sorry that I single you out a lot," Susan admitted bashfully, her cheeks burning as Amora moved to close the bathroom door, giving them some privacy. "You're easily one of the prettiest girls in the whole school and you're so kind too... I just feel so insecure when I'm around you and I act so mean--"

Amora's brows furrowed and she shook her head. "You shouldn't feel that way, Susan. You are beautiful-- there's no need to compare yourself to other girls. It will just put you down. We need to lift each other up."

When only silence came from the ginger girl, Amora grabbed a hairbrush off the side. "Let me do your hair for you," Amora proposed. "I learnt how to do this super complicated bun-thing over the summer, and it's got plaits in it and everything."

Susan's eyes widened a little. "But--"

"No buts," Amora insisted, starting to comb through her long hair. "Susan, you and I are friends. I'm doing your hair for you. Full stop."

Susan smiled gently and allowed Amora to work on her hair. Amora stayed true to her word and managed to make a beautiful bun in Susan's hair, pulling out the front parts to frame her face. She'd even straightened her fringe for her and added a little bit of hairspray to keep everything in place during the night.

"Wow, Amora..." Susan bit her lip. "Thank you. It looks amazing."

"Of course! Now, if you don't mind, I have to do my own hair."

Amora curled her brown locks loosely and let them fall over her shoulders. After, with some help from Kathy, she slipped on the dress that she had purchased from Madam Opal and found herself looking in the mirror, admiring herself. Her feet were definitely going to kill in the heels that she was wearing, but it was worth it.

"Kathy!" Amora grinned when she saw her friend. "Leon's going to fall in love with you-- if he hasn't already."

"Stop," Kathy blushed and hugged Amora, whispering in her ear, "and I think you're going to have more than one Slytherin boy staring tonight."

D.M + A.B

Amora felt anxious as she made her way to the stairs that led down to the foyer. She could hear the chatter and laughs from other students and it sort of made her feel better. Her hands grasped the skirt of her dress, hoping that she didn't trip on her way down. Kathy walked next to her.

"Oh gosh, I'm so excited," Kathy squealed.

Amora offered a small smile as the pair turned the corner. Her brown eyes darted around for Blaise, spotting him by the bottom of the stairs standing next to none other than Draco Malfoy himself. She could have cursed the universe right there and then, but she kept the fake smile on her face.

Blaise glanced up, his eyes slightly widening as he noticed his date stood at the top of the stairs. His loss of speech made Draco shoot him an irritated look until he followed his line of vision, silver eyes landing on Amora Buckley.

His heart stopped in his chest. Pansy was saying something about her dress looking nice from next to him, but everything sounded underwater for him. He was starstruck; wondering how Amora could have possibly looked even better than she did before. She wasn't looking at them as she walked down the steps, her eyes concentrating on her feet and her hands bunched in the material of her dress.

"Bloody hell..." Blaise's mutter snapped Draco out of it.

Blaise grinned, tongue swiping across his teeth as he moved closer to meet Amora at the bottom of the stairs. Draco felt anger make a home in the pit of his stomach, his fists clenching and his lip curling up in disgust. How dare Blaise use Amora to make him feel inferior and jealous?

"Hi," Amora breathed once she got to the bottom, admiring the black dress robes that Blaise was wearing. "You look nice."

Blaise sent a charming grin her way. "Thank you, Amora. I must say, you look even more beautiful than I had imagined you to look tonight."

Amora blushed and bit down on her lip, everting her eyes with a small chuckle. She saw Leon and Kathy a few feet away, gushing over each other. Then her eyes trailed to her left where Draco stood beside Pansy Parkinson, a scowl on his face as he listened to whatever she was saying. He looked handsome anyway, black and white dress robes on and his hair parted neatly to the side.

"I hope you don't mind, I already saved us a seat on a table with a couple of my friends," Blaise said, "Well, I saved an extra two seats in case you wanted to invite anybody, too."

Amora had a gut feeling that she knew who Blaise's friends were but smiled nevertheless. "Oh, of course. Thank you."

"Students, please make your way into the Great Hall!" Professor McGonnagall ordered with a clap of her hands as she moved around all of the people loitering about in the foyer. "Students to the Great Hall. Line up! Line up!"

Blaise held his hand out. "Shall we?" He smirked.

Amora gently allowed him to take her hand. "We shall."

D.M + A.B

The Great Hall had been decorated spectacularly, a true winter wonderland in contrast to the rest of Hogwarts which had been adorned and embellished with gold, warm ornaments. Huge Christmas trees hung like skyscrapers around the edges of the hall, fake snow on their green leaves, while circular tables stood by the entrance, food and drink out and ready for students to take.

"It looks amazing," Amora murmured to Blaise as they clapped for the Triwizard champions who walked down the line of students, heading for the dance floor.

"It certainly does, but I can think of one thing that looks better," Blaise winked at her, glancing away satisfactorily when he saw the way her cheeks heated up again.

Draco was scowling from the other side of Blaise, not bothering to clap as Harry Potter and Parvati Patil walked by them. He saw the way that Harry's eyes flickered towards Amora hopefully, but the petite brunette was too busy cheering for her cousin who was shooting her a smile.

Professor Flitwick then proceeded to lead the orchestra who played the tune they'd been learning in class a few weeks ago. Everybody stood around the dancefloor, watching as the Triwizards and their dates took part in the ceremonial dance. After Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonnagall made their way to the floor, other teachers and students followed behind.

"Would you like to dance?" Blaise questioned, his deep voice sending shivers down Amora's spine.

"Of course."

Once again, Amora took Blaise's hand as he led her onto the dancefloor. He was much taller than her so she peered up as she grasped one of his hands and put the other on his shoulder, his spare hand meeting her waist. He held her delicately, pursing his lips as they began to move around on the floor with everybody else.

"You're very good at this," Blaise complimented after a minute or two.

"Thank you. You're good, too," Amora replied, "I used to do dance lessons-- when I was in primary education, that is."

Blaise smiled. "Well, it paid off."

Amora averted her eyes so that she didn't blush for the hundredth time that night. However, it was a mistake, as she was quickly meeting emeralds framed by circular glasses. She felt her breath hitch, guilt bubbling in her stomach as Harry danced with Parvati, a saddened expression on his face as he watched Amora.

She tore her gaze away, turning left instead. That was also a mistake. Draco was watching her too. He didn't look as sad as Harry, he just looked angry and annoyed. He was dancing with Pansy, but his silver eyes bored into Amora's mahogany ones.

Amora realised there and then that Harry had to be wrong. The way Draco looked at her dancing with Blaise-- there was no excuse other than jealousy and hurt. He had a weird way of showing it, but Amora realised, as she danced with Blaise Zabini, that Draco liked her in some strange Draco-Malfoy-way.

Her heart started to pound hard, her grip nearly loosening in Blaise's as he spun her. She felt quite dizzy, blinking quickly as she thought about what had taken her so long to discover.

Leon was right; she was oblivious. Amora sort of wished she had stayed that way in this circumstance, because now all she could think about was how she was glad that Draco most likely liked her. Glad because she might feel things for him too-- things that enemies shouldn't feel for each other.

Merlin-- Amora was stuck in the middle of one of the strangest love triangles ever. How could Harry and Draco, two very different people, have feelings for the same girl? They were enemies too, just to put the icing on the cake.

If somebody told her this time last year that she would be in this situation then she would have laughed in their faces. One, Harry was one of her closest friends and he'd never like her like that, and two, Draco hated her!

Perhaps he had never hated her in the first place.

"You seem distracted," Blaise leaned down to murmur against her ear.

Amora's tongue darted out to wet her lips and she sent him a nervous smile. "Just focusing on the steps."

His hands wrapped around her waist and lifted her off the ground to spin her in time with everybody else. They spun around, hands meeting again until eventually the soft music came to a halt. Amora liked dancing with Blaise but she was grateful; maybe now they could escape Harry and Draco's intense gazes.

Soon after, the students were all ushered to their tables. Blaise led Amora over to a table in the far left of the room, pulling out her seat for her and everything before taking the one next to her. Crabbe and Goyle were already sitting down, without dates. Amora's heart nearly got caught in her throat when Draco and Pansy took seats opposite them. Draco looked handsome in his dark dress robes whilst Pansy was wearing a frilly, pink dress.

Amora wondered why Draco had asked Pansy to go to the Yule Ball with him if he had made it clear that he despised his fellow Slytherin. Perhaps Pansy had asked him, or maybe he'd left it last minute and she was the only one willing to cancel her date for him.

"I like your dress, Pansy," Amora dared to compliment the Slytherin girl, a small but genuine smile on her face as she sipped at some of the water left on the table.

Pansy looked startled for a moment, shooting a look at Draco and then looking back at Amora with a scrunched up nose. Before Amora could think Pansy was about to spit back something less than a compliment in return, she watched Pansy force a fake smile.

"Thank you, Buckley." Her gaze flickered up and down Amora. "I saw your dress at Madam Opal's. Too cheap for me, but nice on you."

Amora's eyebrows shot up in disbelief and she couldn't help but try not to snort. Pansy knew exactly what she was doing with her backhanded compliment, and luckily Amora didn't take it to heart-- in fact, she thought it was quite funny, even if it did hold malicious intentions.

"Not very classy of you to say so, Parkinson," Draco spat, much to Amora's surprise.

Luckily, before an awkward silence could fill the table, Leon and Kathy headed over, smiling politely at all of the Slytherins. Amora was thankful that Leon would suck up sitting with the green house for the evening rather than with his friends who she was sure he would much rather be spending his time with.

"Holloway. Redsoft," Blaise nodded respectfully at them.

"Hi, guys," Kathy greeted perkily, "Your dress is nice, Pansy."

Pansy rolled her eyes. "Hufflepuffs..." She muttered under her breath before saying louder, "Thanks. Yours too."

Amora's dainty fingers reached out and she grabbed one of the menus in front of her, inspecting it over. Once she'd picked what she wanted and asked Blaise what he was having, the two both said their orders into the golden plate in front of them, their meals popping up fresh and hot in front of them.

"Wow!" Leon exclaimed. "I didn't know you could do that."

Goyle and Crabbe shared looks from the other side of Amora and Goyle looked like he was holding back from saying something. Kathy said the same sort of thing as Leon, even picking up the plate and looking underneath it. The two Half-bloods had come from homes that were more Muggle-orientated than what the six Pure-bloods around the table were used to.

"Wow, it's almost like it's magic or something," Draco remarked sarcastically.

Goyle rolled his eyes. "Stupid blood traitors," he muttered, but Amora heard.

"Pardon me?" The brunette frowned at him, causing everybody's eyes to snap over in alarm, wondering what she had heard that they hadn't.

"It was nothing," Goyle said back.

"No, I heard what you said." Amora folded her arms across her chest. "I think maybe you should apologise to Leon and Kathy."

Draco looked positively amused, almost proud to see Amora standing up to Goyle despite him being so much larger than her-- it looked almost comical. His gaze flickered between the pair, waiting to see if his friend would bite into it and apologise to relieve the tensions, or if he would stand his ground.

The boy beside her released a mocking laugh. "Sorry? You think I should say sorry to these two," he jerked his hand in the direction of Leon and Kathy. "A pair of Half-bloods that grew up in Muggle England? Blood traitors?"

"I don't see why that makes them any less worthy of an apology," Amora stated boldly, narrowing her dark eyes at him.

"Amora, it's fine." Leon tried to touch her hand but she ripped it away.

"No, Leon, it's not fine," Amora snapped, looking directly at Goyle. "Pure-bloods like you make me ashamed to be one, Goyle. Do you not have better things to be worried about than the level of magic running through someone's blood?"

"Watch your tone," Goyle warned gravely and Draco straightened up in his seat, hoping he wasn't going to have to snap at his friend and make himself look like he was some sort of lost puppy when it came to Amora.

"Amora," Blaise warned.

Amora grimaced as she stood up, pushing her chair out. She reached forwards and grabbed the glass of water that she had been drinking from, dumping it on top of Goyle's head. Gasps mixed with laughter echoed from their table and Draco wasn't an exception, pursing his lips to stop himself from chuckling.

Goyle was furious. "What the--"

"You don't get to make fun of my friends and you don't get to tell me what to do," Amora cut him off.

"Miss Buckley," Professor McGonagall's voice came calmly from behind her, causing her to closer her eyes and sigh. "Would you like to come with me?"

Great.


	17. Chapter 17

After a long lecture from Professor McGonagall, where the witch pretended not to be amused when she discovered the reasoning behind Amora spilling her water on Goyle's head, the brunette was allowed back into the hall. By now, everybody had stopped eating and were dancing as a band played. Amora recognised them as The Weird Sisters.

It appeared that Blaise had grown bored of waiting around for his date and instead had moved onto Daphne Greengrass, a blonde Slytherin girl wearing an emerald green dress. Amora couldn't feel it in her to feel hurt by the action. In fact, it felt like a weight off of her shoulders now that she didn't have to try and act proper for Blaise all evening-- even if he did look like he'd been carved by the angels themselves.

"Did you get in much trouble?" Kathy called above the music once Amora found her way over to her friends.

"No, I think McGonnagall seemed quite... proud, actually?" The corner's of Amora's lips lifted up in amusement as the two girls laughed, Kathy flinging her arm around Amora's shoulder.

"You missed Like a Hippogriff!" Leon exclaimed, glancing away from the band and over to his best friend, knowing how she had learnt all of the words to it one summer as a joke, and nearly got it stuck in her head for the rest of the year.

"Oh, bloody hell!" Amora huffed. "Just my luck. I'm going to get a drink."

"What happened to your last one?" Leon joked and the three of them laughed as Amora headed towards the tables filled with jugs of different drinks.

Some people loitered around there as Amora filled a cup up with what she assumed was water, and she didn't realise that one of those people had been Draco Malfoy until he appeared right next to her. He began to get some water for himself, but he appeared distracted.

Draco hesitated for a few seconds. "You look beautiful," he murmured, voice barely above a whisper so only Amora heard it.

For some reason, that felt ten times better than when any of the girls in her dormitory or Blaise had said it. It made her forget all about how he'd been rude to her and Harry last week when she'd ran into him, or how they'd been ignoring each other since they danced over a month ago now. Hearing him talk directly to her nearly felt refreshing in an odd way that Amora hated to admit.

"Thank you," Amora raised her cup to her lips and sipped. "You look handsome."

Draco didn't smirk like when Pansy had complimented him; instead, embarrassingly, he felt his cheeks heat up and his head turned to the side, trying to not let her see it. However, unfortunately for Draco, his skin was the colour of paper, so Amora noticed. It made her smile.

"I probably don't deserve it, but I'd like for us to have a redo." Draco moved closer, his body looming over hers as she looked up into his silver eyes.

"A redo?" Amora repeated and, as if the universe was on Draco's side, slower music started to play.

"I'd like to dance with you, Amora," Draco said softly, holding his lanky hand out for her to take.

He looked nervous for a few seconds, worried that Amora was going to reject him when he had finally put himself out for her. There were no excuses this time. It was just a boy wanting to dance with a girl. A girl that he hadn't been able to get out of his head since the day he saw her limp body being carried into the Hospital Wing by Hagrid.

Amora hesitated. She wanted to dance with Draco, she really did, but she feared it was some sort of joke— a harmful prank that would blow up in her face and have him laughing at her for the rest of their academic careers. But Amora peered into silver pools and saw nothing but sincerity and even fear, and she knew that it was taking Draco a lot to put himself out there.

She lifted her hand to slot it with his when Amora saw a whirl of pink rushing for the doors, followed by familiar cries. Her heart lurched when she realised that Hermione was crying, and she pulled back her hand. The look that crossed Draco's face hurt even more.

"I'm sorry, Draco—"

"No, I get it," Draco cut her off, trying to mask his pain with anger, though his voice wobbled past his gritted white teeth. "I don't know what I was thinking. Merlin, somebody must have slipped something in my drink to make me think this was a good idea. That, or I'm under the Imperius Curse."

"Draco." Amora peered behind him, trying not to lose track of Hermione who was spitting something at Ron and Harry in the hallway. "That's not what I-"

"Forget it," Draco spat.

Amora sighed as he stormed past her, his body colliding with hers to make a point. The brunette watched him head back to their table, running a hand through his platinum hair on the way. She took mental note of where he was and then rushed after Hermione.

"'Mione!" She found the girl sitting on the stairs by herself, her shoes beside her and her pink dress becoming a home for her falling tears. "What happened?"

Hermione looked up and nearly sobbed in relief at seeing Amora. The shorter brunette sat down beside Hermione, wrapping her arms around and her.

"Boys, that's the problem!" Hermione whimpered. "I- I'd rather be worrying about anything else, Amora. The O.W.L.S, my Charms homework... but Ron has to ruin everything!"

"Oh," Amora furrowed her brows. "What did Ron do?"

"He acts like I'm some sort of— some sort of villain! As if I'm in the wrong for going with Viktor," Hermione ranted, her tears drying as she grew furious. "He thinks he's so clever making remarks, making me feel like an idiot. I just wanted to have fun for once."

"He's an idiot," Amora stated, "All boys are. It's, like, boy code or something. Even Leon's a twat sometimes. Cedric too."

"Well, it's not fair," Hermione huffed, "Why should we have to deal with it?"

Amora's lips tugged up into a small, sympathetic smile. "I don't know. It really isn't fair, is it?"

Hermione leaned so that she was resting her head on Amora's shoulder. Amora stroked the curly-haired girl's arm, staring at the steps below them as she listened to Hermione's sniffles slowly deteriorate into nothing.

"You should head back," Hermione insisted as she sat up. "I don't want to ruin your night when you could be dancing with Blaise."

"Blaise is with Daphne now," Amora shrugged, "I'm not mad about it. We should dance together."

The girl's eyes widened. "Oh, Amora! You are so sweet to me. I would love to, but these heels seriously have crushed my feet. I'm not sure how some girls do it!"

Amora giggled and reached to squeeze Hermione's hand. "I hope you never change, 'Mione."

Once Amora had double-checked, even triple-checked, that her friend was going to be okay, she allowed Hermione to retreat back to the Gryffindor Tower for the night whilst she headed back into the hall. Her eyes darted towards Kathy and Leon who were slow dancing and then she saw Draco still sat by himself, watching the floor, bored.

Amora took a deep breath. It was going to take a lot of courage and bravery to head up to Draco bloody Malfoy and ask him to dance, but she was going to try and woman up and do so. Before she could even walk six feet into the Great Hall, two large figures suddenly blocked her vision and made her stumble back a little.

"Crabbe, Goyle," Amora nodded at them somewhat nervously. "Look, Goyle, no hard feelings, yeah? You must admit- you were being a bit of a dick, though! B-But you're a Slytherin, so you must understand loyalty, right? And--"

"Quit talking," Crabbe grumbled.

"Nah, I don't understand, actually," Goyle spat gruffly, "n' I was thinking I could get a bit'a revenge myself."

"That's not necessary--" Amora was cut off by Goyle grabbing her by one of the arms and Crabbe the other.

She mentally cursed herself for not having her wand on her and struggled in their grasps. Nobody had noticed since she'd barely even made it into the Great Hall in the first place, and nobody saw Crabbe and Goyle took her around the corner into an empty corridor, shoving her up against the wall.

"It was just a bit of water!" Amora protested, eyes widening in fear when Goyle took his wand out of his back pocket. "Seriously, Goyle--"

"We might let you off if you apologise," Goyle practically dug the wand underneath her chin, making her swallow nervously. "Nice and sweetly."

To most, it wouldn't sound like much. A quick apology and she'd be let go and free to enjoy the rest of her Christmas Eve in the Great Hall, potentially with Draco, but Amora was stubborn-- at least, she was when it came to her morals and her friends. He Who Must Not Be Named could have been the one behind the wand and she still wouldn't have given up.

Some would say that it wasn't healthy to be that way, that sometimes a compromise would benefit her, but when Amora was adamant on something, she was adamant on it. She would not say sorry for sticking up for her friends, not in a million years.

Even if Goyle was about to curse her.

"Locomotor Wibbly!" Goyle snapped, the two of them laughing when Amora felt her knees buckle beneath her.

She groaned when she realised that they had done the Jelly-Legs Curse on her, the skirt of her dress burying her as she crumpled to the cold floor. Amora glared harshly at the two of them standing above her, clearly amused and pleased with themselves.

"Idiots!" Amora growled, "Do the counter spell right this instant! Or so help me I will crawl using my hands to Professor Dumbledore himself and let him know you've been abusing your magic to--"

"Langlock," Crabbe said, flicking his wand to jinx the teenage girl.

Amora's brown eyes widened at the realisation that her tongue was now stuck to the roof of her mouth, preventing her from speaking at all. She shot them the nastiest look that she could conjure, watching the two large bullies start to snicker with one another.

"She's much prettier when she's not talking, isn't she, Crabbe?" Goyle smirked, crouching down to grab her by the jaw. "Malfoy might stop sayin' how she's so annoying now."

If she could, she would have spat directly into his eyes. Amora's hands still worked though, so with all the force she could muster, Amora extended her hand and slapped Goyle's cheek so hard that he fell backwards onto his arse. She whimpered at the stinging pain in her palm, but it was worth it to hear the yell that escaped the bully's mouth as he clutched his cheek.

Crabbe grabbed Goyle by the shoulders and dragged him back a little bit. "Bitch!" Goyle groaned, holding his face which was bleeding from one of her rings.

Suddenly, they heard footsteps start heading around the corner, their own eyes widening as they took off in the other direction, leaving Amora stranded on the ground there. She felt utter relief take over her body when she realised who it was.

"Amora!" Fred's eyebrows darted up at the sight of the girl sitting on the floor. "What are you doing down there?"

George was beside him, both in their dress robes and seemingly about to take the long route back to their dormitory. She had never been so thankful to see the Weasley twins in her entire life. She gestured to her mouth and shook her head.

"Ah!" Fred realised what she was implying and grabbed his wand and pointed it at her. "Finite!"

She sighed in relief when she felt the sensation in her legs come back as well as her tongue falling back into its natural position inside her mouth. George reached his hands out and helped her up off of the floor, a sympathetic frown on his face. When her knees wobbled underneath her, they both reached to help her keep upright.

"What happened?" Fred asked.

"Are you okay?" George added.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," Amora promised them, brushing their hands off as she felt something in her heart ache.

She felt rather humiliated and stupid, wishing she would have had her wand on her so she could have put Crabbe and Goyle in their places. Amora didn't feel like she could stomach going back into the Great Hall. She ran a hand through her loose curls and sent the two older boys a small smile.

"I'm going to head to bed," she said, "thanks."

"Amora, who--"

"Crabbe and Goyle," Amora cringed, "but don't worry about it. I'll get them back."

She pushed past the two redheads and found herself heading to the other side of the school rather than where the Hufflepuffs resided. Amora ended all the way up in the Astronomy Tower. She'd been there a few times with Leon, but never by herself.

It was snowing outside, and much to Amora's delight, it was sticking. She daren't go too close to the edge, her fear of heights too strong for it, but she admired it from about six feet away from the railings. She hadn't even realised that she had stopped thinking about what Crabbe and Goyle had done and said to her until she realised how cold it was and that a few tears were slipping down her cheeks.

"For goodness sake, Amora," the teenage girl hissed to herself as she rubbed the tears away, feeling stupid for getting so worked up-- it was mostly anger.

"Surprise, surprise," Draco Malfoy's snobbish voice came from behind her, making her turn rapidly. "It seems we can't avoid each other, hm?"

"I was here first," she muttered weakly.

Draco took in her appearance and frowned slightly. "Have you been crying?"

Amora rolled her eyes. "What is to you?" The harshness of her tone not only told him everything he needed to know but took him back. "Why are you even talking to me? Are you under the Imperius Curse or something?" She referred to his previous words bitterly.

"No," Draco said sourly. "Was it Potter?"

Amora laughed sarcastically and turned from him, looking back out at all of the scenery in front of them. She wished she was back at home right now in the comfort of her bedroom, surrounded by all of her favourite books and an excessive number of candles.

"I'm sure that would boost your ego," Amora huffed.

"What are you talking about?" Draco spat.

"I'm well aware that you and Harry use me to piss the other off," Amora felt the tears welling again. "You know Harry likes me so you do things like dance with me or let me hold your hand when I'm in pain. And then Harry retaliates and tries to one-up you. It's— it's not fair. It's disgusting and I'm fed up of being caught in the middle of some— some gross game between two pathetic school boys. And tonight, when you asked me to dance and you thought I was about to say no, you reacted like a child not getting his way!"

Draco appeared positively furious. His pale skin had grown slightly red and his nostrils were flared. Amora couldn't bring herself to fear him like most students would. She'd seen sides of him she was sure even his close friends hadn't.

"Use you?" Draco growled, taking a step closer. "You think everything I've done is to make Potter mad? The whole world doesn't revolve around famous Harry fucking Potter, Buckley! I'm sick of people thinking so!"

Amora swallowed thickly, brown eyes wide and her face bewildered. "What?"

Draco shook his head and started to leave. "Doesn't matter. Believe whatever you want."

Amora's heart was pounding out of her chest because she was pretty sure that Draco had just admitted that he liked her in his own Draco-way. Much to her dismay, she felt tears of frustration start to leak from her eyes.

"You're so bloody infuriating!" She yelled before he could leave to retreat back down the stairs.

Draco froze and turned around, as if not quite believing that Amora had the capability to yell so harshly— especially at him. People rarely stood up to him like that, and particularly not Hufflepuffs with hearts of gold.

Amora continued, her expression made of fury and displeasure. She hated that the tears continued to leak. They were more out of anger and annoyance than anything else, and she hoped Draco recognised that and didn't take it as a sign of weakness.

"I know you don't hate me," Amora spat, "I know it was you that returned my book to me last year after the Whomping Willow incident a-and I know that I was your first choice to dance with in McGonagall's lesson. I see you staring at me. I heard how you defended me against Harry. I know, Draco."

Draco looked sick. "You don't know anything," his voice came out in a cracked whisper as he looked at her desperately. "So shut up."

"Don't you dare!" Amora seethed and she moved forward, wishing she was taller so she could get up in his face and maybe intimidate him. Instead, she smacked his chest and shoved him back a little. "Don't say I know nothing! Don't tell me to shut up!"

"I do as I please," Draco shouted, "And I've had it up to here with your attitude and your mouth. I infuriate you? You infuriate me!"

Amora smacked him in the chest again, making him stumble back a little. Draco straightened back up, his body looming over her and his cologne fresh in her nostrils. He was intoxicating in the most frustrating way.

"Now listen to me!" Amora continued, "You're a coward, Draco Malfoy! You pick on me and tease me so you don't have to admit that you actually care. You push me to breaking point all the time. You call me a blood traitor and you shoot me dirty looks—"

"I said shut up," he seethed.

She shoved him once more and this time he caught her hands and tugged her closer to his chest. Amora pretended that she wasn't captured in his grip, his large hands wrapped around her dainty wrists and his silver eyes burning straight into her.

"No, you can't just basically admit that you care about me and then try to run away. You know what? Harry is a bigger man than you! At least when he admitted that he liked me, he looked me in the eye and he--"

She'd struck a nerve.

Amora was cut off when Draco smashed his lips against hers. Her heart nearly stopped in her chest as he ducked, his hands still grabbing her wrists close to his chest. She found herself kissing back just as roughly, the two of them fighting for dominance over each other. Draco's tongue slipped across her bottom lip, but as his grip on her weakened and she found herself gaining control of herself, she shoved him off of her.

"What the fuck?" Amora hissed.

"It shut you up," Draco shrugged.

"No!" Amora flung her hands about. "No, it wasn't supposed to be like that. You weren't supposed to use that as an excuse or grab me like that or deny how you feel beforehand—"

"What did you want?" Draco snapped, "Did you want me to write you a bloody sonnet? For me to set up candles and roses and peck you on the lips like your grandmother?"

Amora had never felt so stupid in her entire life. Of course, it wouldn't be like the Muggle romance novels Hermione shared with her. She shook her head as the tears stung again, and this time it was out of sadness.

It reminded her of the version of Draco that she had pictured before— the sweet one that she had helped her on the train back in the first year. Yet again, she was left staring at a teenage boy angry at the world, face paler than usual from the cold and his lips swollen from their kiss.

Maybe she just liked the idea of him, not the real Draco.

And then she remembered the way he'd held her when they danced. Or how he'd given her his jumper. How they'd laughed when they escaped Madam Pince or the way he let her sleep on his shoulder. The way he'd asked her to dance half an hour before.

"Just-" Amora swallowed as she shook her head. "Just pretend this never happened. I'm sure that would be ideal for you, anyway."

Amora didn't miss the way Draco's face crumbled as she walked past him. She heard him turn to watch her leave and she was by the hatch when she heard him.

"Amora," he breathed in defeat. "I'm not— I'm not good at this."

Before he could see her break down into sobs, Amora turned away and pulled the hatch up.

"Let me know when you are."

And she left Draco Malfoy on the Astronomy Tower; alone and in the freezing cold night.


	18. Chapter 18

Amora's heart was pounding out of her chest as she raced through the corridors of Hogwarts. People were dotted around the building, students and teachers, all laughing and carefree as they socialised with one another, nobody bothering with a curfew after the success of the Yule Ball.

All Amora could think about was the fact that Draco Malfoy had just kissed her. It had the potential to be so romantic; the way that they had been at the top of the Astronomy Tower on Christmas Eve after a ball, watching the snowfall delicately around them, both dressed beautifully.

However, it hadn't been romantic. It had been harsh and fast and Draco had even made up a rubbish excuse for it afterwards.

"It shut you up," he'd shrugged. It reminded her all too wickedly of what Goyle had said to her only minutes before.

She's much prettier when she's not talking, isn't she, Crabbe? Malfoy might stop saying how she's so annoying now.

She was quite distraught, her brain a mess of confusion as she tried to navigate her way to the Hufflepuff common room. Amora heard Leon call her name from where he'd been standing in a hallway with Kathy and a couple of Ravenclaws, but she kept her head down and moved swiftly to the dorms.

Once she'd made it inside, she found out that she was the first one back. All of the girls must still be hanging out around the school or in the common room (which she had walked so quickly through that nobody had ever seen her). Amora slammed the door to the bathroom and locked it, staring herself down in the mirror.

Stupid Draco. Why did he have to go and kiss her? With those stupid lips. They were slightly chapped but overall soft against hers, and she could taste the transfer of her cherry lipgloss when he'd swiped his tongue across her bottom lip. That's when she'd snapped out of it. When she realised what she was doing.

Kissing the enemy.

"Bloody hell." Amora buried her face into her hands, tearing her gaze away from the intense eye contact that she'd been giving herself in the mirror. "I am so done for."

Her fingers unconsciously traced her lips, feeling them tingle beneath the pads. If she thought about it hard enough, which she couldn't seem to stop doing, Amora could still feel the grip that he'd had on her wrists, feel the warmth of his body in contrast to the harsh iciness of the air, smell the expensive cologne he wore and feel his nose brush her cheek.

Draco liked her. Her thoughts from earlier at the Yule Ball when she'd caught him staring had been confirmed. He'd kissed her and he'd seemed almost apologetic before she left him alone, a heartbroken and defeated expression on his face that Amora had never seen before on him. He looked genuinely scared for her to leave him alone, but she'd done it anyway.

Amora convinced herself that he deserved it. When she'd scolded him for kissing her so abruptly, he'd tried to immediately shut her down by making her feel small and insignificant. Draco couldn't handle being the one that was in the wrong or embarrassed, so he acted just like he did when Amora bumped into him on the train the first time they ever met-- like a small child.

The brunette pulled her dress off and hung it up before she climbed into the shower. She washed away all of the makeup from her face and the product from her hair, brushing her teeth whilst she let her conditioner stay in for extra long. Once she'd finished, Amora felt better than before, although her mind was still distracted. She pulled her pyjamas on and pushed the door open.

"Amora!" Kathy was right there, making her jump. "Are you okay?"

Amora forced a small smile. "I'm perfectly fine, Kathy. Did you enjoy your evening with Leon?"

Kathy was taken aback by Amora's optimism. She'd expected to find her with tear stains down her cheeks or looking hurt, but the petite brunette simply pushed past the curly-haired blonde and went to sit on top of her bed.

"It was great," Kathy admitted, sitting down on her own bed, still clad in her dress and looking like some sort of angel. "How was yours? I didn't see you after you said you were going to get a drink. You disappeared!"

"Hermione needed some comforting," Amora said, reaching into her bedside drawers and pulling out some notepads. It wasn't a total lie.

"Oh. Is she okay?"

"She'll be fine."

"That's good. Everybody's down in the common room. We're playing some games if you want to join?" Kathy offered.

Amora forced another smile. "No thanks, Kathy. I think I'm gonna write my father a quick letter for Christmas. I forgot to earlier."

"Oh! Of course, you know where we are if you finish up early."

Amora watched as Kathy left before she opened her notepad and began to scan through all of her notes, looking for the perfect jinx to get Crabbe and Goyle back with, doing her best to forget all about Draco Malfoy, and particularly his lips against hers. 

D.M + A.B

"Merry Christmas, guys!"

The brunette glanced up from her spot beside Leon and Kathy at the Hufflepuff table, grinning at the Golden Trio who stood in front of her. They slipped onto the bench on the other side of the three members from the yellow house, pulling individual presents out and placing them in front of them. Amora gasped excitedly and reached into the pocket inside her robe, grabbing her own neatly wrapped gift.

"I nearly forgot about Secret Santa!" She exclaimed, placing it in the middle like everybody else.

Hermione sighed and rolled her eyes. "I think we should stop calling it 'Secret Santa' and just start calling it 'Santa' seeing as Ron and Amora were adamant on spoiling it for everybody."

Ron rolled his eyes and looked at Amora. "She's been on about this for ages."

Amora smiled in amusement as everybody reached to grab a random present and read the tag stuck to the side. Hers read 'Kathy' so she handed it to the blonde girl, Harry passing her the one that he had picked up. She grinned at the square-shaped present that she already knew was from Leon.

"Who gets to go first, then?" Harry asked, glancing around their group of friends.

Hermione giggled. "Well, Amora looks like she's about to burst."

It was true; the brunette loved Christmas, not only for receiving presents but also for giving them. Being a bad liar also meant that she got nervous opening presents-- she always worried that she might not like it and then she'd have to lie to their faces, and she really hated upsetting people.

Kathy laughed. "Okay, Amora first then-- we can go around clockwise."

"Are you guys sure?" Amora asked, though her foot was tapping on the floor and her fingers were tracing the snowflakes on the wrapping paper subconsciously.

"Get on with it!" Ron insisted, "I wanna open mine too at some point today."

"Okay," she breathed.

She started to rip at the neatly wrapped present, carefully placing all of the paper onto the empty plate in front of her. Amora realised that it was a photo frame and that she'd opened it up the wrong way around. She flipped it and allowed a small gasp to rip past her rosy lips.

"That's why you asked Neville to take that picture!" Amora gaped, her eyes nearly tearing up at the photograph sitting inside the frame.

On their Hogsmeade trip at the start of December when they'd gone shopping specifically for Secret Santa and additional Christmas presents, Leon had asked the Gryffindor boy to take a picture of the six of them. Amora was standing in between Harry and Leon right in the middle, and all of them were grinning. The picture moved and showed Amora leaning her head back on Leon's shoulder as she laughed at a crude joke that Ron had made a second earlier, her best friend looking down at her with an adoring smile. All wrapped up tight in hats and gloves with rosy cheeks and noses, it quickly became one of Amora's favourite presents ever.

"I love it," Amora pouted, placing it on the table before she flung her arms around Leon on the bench, his lanky arms holding her back. "I love you."

"I love you too, Amora," he chuckled, shaking his head as she ran her thumb across the glass, admiring her gift once more. "Sorry that it's not a lot. I didn't have much money--"

"Leon, don't you dare apologise." Amora clutched the photo frame to her chest. "I shall keep this forever and ever."

They moved onto Harry next, since he was opposite Amora, then Hermione, who Amora had gifted some of her favourite books by Wizard authors that Hermione had never heard of, then Ron, Kathy, and finally Leon. The table ended up a small mess of wrapping paper, but with a flick of the wand from the Gryffindor witch, it was banished and left it empty again.

"Are you guys staying here for breakfast?" Kathy asked eagerly, playing with the ends of the scarf that Harry had bought her.

"Might as well," Ron said, looking at the selection of food running up and down the middle of the table and reaching for some sausages. "Y'know, speaking of a Merry Christmas, guess who got sent to the Medical Wing last night?"

Amora frowned worriedly. "Who?"

"Crabbe and Goyle of all people!" Ron practically roared with a mouthful of food, earning a smack to the arm from Hermione. He ignored her. "Apparently they got hit by a Stinging Jinx and Goyle has a broken nose!"

Amora's frown deepened, not out of concern but out of genuine confusion. She'd planned on getting them back with a bit of a lighter jinx, but not until after Christmas. Today was supposed to be about family and friends, and so she'd attempted to push away all thoughts of Crabbe and Goyle and... Draco.

Much to her dismay, her heart fluttered sickeningly at the reminder. She hadn't seen him since the Astronomy Tower last night, and she wasn't sure she wanted to-- at least, not today. Today was supposed to be a happy day, and Draco, even if he was attractive and sometimes managed to make her feel... strange, rarely ever bought happiness with him.

"They most likely deserved it," Leon shrugged and Kathy frowned at him.

"You don't know that," Kathy said softly, "They could be really hurt! I've heard that the Stinging Jinx swells the person's face! And it's supposedly agonising."

Amora suddenly remembered that the only people who knew about what Crabbe and Goyle had done to her were the Weasley twins. She paused from where she's been pouring herself some pumpkin juice and stood up.

"I just need to go and ask someone something," Amora muttered absentmindedly, but thankfully her friends were all too focused on talking about the Stinging Jinx to realise what she had said or that she was walking away from the Hufflepuff table.

At the Gryffindor table, the Weasley twins sat next to each other, breakfast in their hands as they spoke to some of their friends in their year group. Amora tapped one of them on the shoulder, unable to tell who was who from behind, but smiling slightly when George whirled around, Fred following. She could only tell them apart from the bump on George's nose.

"What can we do for you today, Amora?" Fred greeted.

"Are you feeling better?" George asked.

"I'm fine, thanks for asking," Amora beamed at the two redheads. "Merry Christmas, by the way. I was just wondering if you two happened to have anything to do with Crabbe and Goyle ending up in the Medical Wing last night? Something about a Stinging Jinx?"

"I had no idea," George admitted, "it wasn't us. You told us to leave it."

"Besides, jinxes are not our style. You should know this by now, Amora," Fred huffed, "you know what is? Sweets. Do you fancy one?" He grinned mischievously, producing some from his pocket.

"I think I'll stick to cereal for breakfast, thank you."

The rest of Christmas Day went by quite quickly, and smoothly at that. After spending some of the morning with her mother whilst her friends played Quidditch, the six friends had met back up again and hung in the Gryffindor common room. Neville, Seamus, Ginny, and Dean had accompanied them, not a moment of boring silence passing.

A huge feast was held in the Great Hall later and Amora stacked her plate with what she thought was the perfect roast dinner-- including turkey, stuffing, pigs in blankets, a Yorkshire pudding, parsnips, roast potatoes, carrots-- all of it. Leon had practically had a go at her when she put bread sauce on it, claiming that she was ruining a perfectly good meal.

Amora hadn't spotted Draco once. Not that she was looking for him...

Okay, she had been kind of looking for him. No matter how much she tried to convince her own mind that he didn't matter, her brown eyes would lift far too often over to the Slytherin table. She never caught a glimpse of blond hair or heard his arrogant voice, so she assumed that he had possibly gone home early. Nearly everybody was still there for Christmas this year because of the Yule Ball, but some students, like Amora, would be going home on Boxing Day-- tomorrow. 

Her stomach was full and her eyes were tired as she entered her dormitory, ready to pack her bag and then call it a night. She'd had a really good day, despite the news about Goyle and Crabbe and the constant thoughts about a certain Malfoy, and she was disappointed that it had to come to an end. Now she had to wait another three-hundred-and-sixty-five days.

Amora was halfway through packing her trunk for the next week and a half when she realised that she had forgotten Leon's present to her back in the Gryffindor common room. She smacked her hand against her forehead, wondering how she could be so forgetful. She didn't say anything to the other girls as she left the dorm and then the Hufflepuff common room, wandering through the halls of Hogwarts.

It was slightly cold, her hands clutching her arms as she moved through, the loose slip dress she was wearing swishing around her thighs. The short-sleeved tee she had beneath it did no justice in keeping her warm. The snow falling against the windows outside made her feel even chillier.

Why did the Gryffindor common room have to be so far away?

"Hi, Amora," a first-year Hufflepuff squeaked at her as she went by.

"Merry Christmas, guys," she smiled, carrying on down the corridor.

Finally, she made it to the Gryffindor common room. She hadn't worked out how she was going to get somebody to come out and let her in, but, thankfully, a seventh year Gryffindor had already been on his way in. He said the password and the portrait swung open, revealing what looked like a small party. Amora wasn't sure how the Gryffindors were still going at it-- she felt like she could fall asleep at any moment now.

It was rowdy, students everywhere as Christmas music played through speakers and everybody conversed and laughed. Somebody shoved into her making her mutter an apology, her brown eyes searching everywhere for a member of the Golden Trio.

"Amora!" Harry greeted her, thankfully, "What are you doing back?"

"I left my photo frame from Leon here--"

"Potter and Buckley are under the mistletoe!" Somebody screamed and those seven words were enough to make her world start spinning.

Both their necks snapped up from where they were already only inches apart, Amora swallowing thickly when sure enough she found the white berries and green leaves hanging above them. Her heart started to pound in her chest when she heard laughter come from the Gryffindors around them.

She snapped back to look at Harry, finding him already looking at her in shock and surprise. When everybody started to chant "kiss, kiss, kiss", most of them drunk older students, Amora saw how embarrassed Harry looked. Hermione and Ron were probably the only ones not chanting, having heard from Harry how Amora had kindly let him down only a few weeks ago now.

His cheeks grew red and he opened his mouth, only stuttering, "I-I--"

"Come on, then!" Someone yelled.

Her heart was in her throat as she found her hands reach forward to grab at the Christmas jumper that he was wearing. Harry's green eyes widened as she leaned closer to him and he hesitated for a split second before he leaned down and pressed her lips against hers.

Cheers erupted from around them and all Amora could think about was those stupid silver eyes as Harry worked his lips against hers— soft and weak. His hands hesitantly moved to her hips, but before it could grow any more intense than a few overlaps of the lips, Amora pulled away.

Harry looked dazed and Amora nearly cursed herself, praying that it didn't give him false hope. She should have just laughed it off or politely declined, but Harry had looked so hopeful and scared that she would reject him in front of everybody.

Deep down, she knew that wasn't the only reason she'd kissed Harry, though. Amora had done it in spite of Draco as if to one-up him despite him not even being in the room. It gave her a sick rush of power for a second, but it all went away as quickly as it came, leaving her breathless.

Everybody turned back to whatever they had been doing before, but Amora still felt like Harry was the only person who existed in the room to her.

"Harry—"

He could see the regret on her face. "It was for the mistletoe," he said quickly, cutting her off. "Thanks for not embarrassing me in front of everyone."

He was saying it to make her feel better, she knew it. Amora's cheeks were burning as she watched his green eyes dart away from her and to the photo frame placed down on one of the tables by the couches they'd been sprawled across hours ago.

"Here." Harry handed it to her. "Have a great rest of your Christmas."

Amora swallowed, not even looking down at the object in her hands as she felt her heart grow heavier.

"Harry, I'm—"

"It's not your fault," Harry said, though it came out harshly and more of a snap.

He turned his back on her and started to weave through the crowds of people. Amora repeated his words in her head and couldn't help but think he meant something else by them.

It's not your fault that we kissed. It's not your fault that you don't like me back. 

D.M + A.B

Waking up early the next morning required a phenomenal amount of effort. The past two days had been intense, a whirlwind of socialising and different emotions, and Amora hoped that Boxing Day would be better. She looked forward to sleeping at home tonight, and to watch the sea crash against the rocky shore as she brushed her hair for bed.

Now, she walked through Hogsmeade with Cedric and her mother, heading through the village to where a family friend lived. Amora's mother preferred to use her Floo Network rather than get the long train journey home, especially since after they had to go from London all the way back down to the South Coast.

"Amora, are you sure you have everything packed?" Professor Buckley questioned for the second time that morning as they moved through Hogsmeade. "Oh, I suppose it doesn't matter now. We're not going back for anything."

Amora didn't reply to her mother and instead walked along beside her, a thoughtful frown on her face as she recalled the previous evening. Guilt settled in her stomach and made her feel queasy, her skin burning despite the cold biting at her.

She couldn't stop thinking about Harry. Or Draco. Merlin, Amora had never even had her first kiss forty-eight hours ago, and now she was kissing two different boys in two consecutive days. It made her feel like rubbish.

"Cheer up, Amora." Cedric clamped his hand on her shoulder from where he was walking behind. "Aren't you excited to spend Boxing Day with your favourite cousin?"

Amora rolled her eyes playfully. "You're my only cousin and we spend every Boxing Day with you and Uncle Amos."

"Amora," her mother scolded, "be nicer to your cousin, please."

Neither Mrs Buckley nor Mr Diggory understood their children's playful relationship— how they could tease each other yet never cross any lines, and how they'd make fun of one another for things that they'd kill anybody else for saying. They didn't need to be nice to the other to know they loved each other.

"It's okay, Auntie Elle," Cedric dismissed, "I'm used to Amora being mean to me."

A playful smile tugged at Amora's lips, finally forgetting all about her troublesome problems until her brown eyes landed on one of them themselves.

Draco Malfoy and his parents were leaving a tea room, dressed all in black in contrast to their pale skin and strikingly blonde hair. Amora had never seen Draco's mother before, but she was a beautiful woman with blonde hair beneath her black locks and a more gentle aura to her than her husband.

Lucius noticed them before anybody else, his grimace widening. "Morning, Mrs Buckley."

Draco's head snapped towards them at his father's words, silver eyes slightly widening when he saw Amora. Amora stared at him for a second or two before she tore her gaze to look at Lucius. The disgust in his tone was evident— he made sure to speak to her due to her Pure-blood status, but he would also remind her she was a blood traitor in a heartbeat.

"Mr Malfoy, Mrs Malfoy," Professor Buckley replied stiffly, "did you have a good Christmas?"

Mrs Malfoy seemed to force a smile. "It was lovely. How was yours?"

"Very nice," Amora's mother replied, "We were just heading home for the break."

"As were we," Mr Malfoy mentioned louder as if he was trying to brag to them. "I believe we do not live too far from each other?"

That was news to Amora. Well, she supposed it wasn't hard to live near anybody when England was so bloody small, and Draco did have a southern accent like her. She'd just assumed it was from some nice place in London since he was so rich and he spoke like a private schoolboy.

"An hour and a half, perhaps," Mrs Buckley nodded.

"Ah, yes— you still live on that beach, don't you?" Mr Malfoy poked, "in that cottage? Quite far from Muggles— perhaps not too bad of a choice then."

The Muggles Studies teacher knew he was trying to rile her up and said nothing in return, simply faking the sweetest smile that she could possibly muster.

"We best get going," Professor Buckley said.

Amora took a final glance at Draco and saw that he was watching her, a small glare on his face. She averted her eyes, accidentally landing on his hands which were gripping a briefcase hard. She noticed that they were slightly bruised and scabbed over, making her frown.

"Amora," Cedric shoved her a little when she didn't budge.

The brunette said nothing and followed her family, wondering what had riled Draco up so much that he had punched something or maybe even someone.

"Gosh, that family drives me up the walls!" Professor Buckley ranted once they were out of earshot. "Never listen to them, Amora. They're outdated and irrational, the lot of them."

Amora's heart sort of sank in her chest because she knew it was true. And what made it worse was that not only would liking Draco mean betraying her friends, but it would mean betraying her family too.

Her Hufflepuff loyalty warned her against thinking of him, but Amora knew just as well as everybody else— loyalties could change.

She just hoped she could stay away from him long enough for her feelings to fade, that way there would be no chance of it.


	19. Chapter 19

The rest of the Christmas holidays went by quicker than Amora would have liked. She'd owled Leon and Kathy a few times and Hermione once, but other than that, Amora remained tucked away in her bedroom, only coming down when her parents asked her to-- which wasn't too often. She didn't mention Harry at all in her letters.

She had a lot of alone time to think about what had happened between her and Harry in the Gryffindor common room in front of everybody. She regretted it immensely; she should have just cracked a joke and brushed it off, but now a good chunk of the school knew what they had done and it was bound to spread where The Boy Who Lived was concerned.

Draco was going to find out and, in all honesty, despite some of the reasoning behind kissing Harry being in spite of him, she didn't want him to. She remembered how he had said on the Astronomy Tower that the whole world didn't revolve around 'famous Harry fucking Potter' and implied that liking her had nothing to do with him, but maybe she had just gone and ruined that for him.

No, he ruined it by kissing her and then deciding to brush her off like it was nothing.

It was hard to continue to believe that he had been completely the only one in the wrong when she recalled the way he had desperately called her name before she left him, or the look in his silver eyes as he admitted, "I'm not good at this."

Perhaps she should have heard him out.

It was too late now-- Amora was apparently awful with boys and now she was simply going to have to face the consequences as she returned back to Hogwarts for the new year. The nine days they had off gone by like a flash, and Amora soon found herself unpacking her trunk in the Hufflepuff dormitory. It was empty as all of the other girls had yet to return, but they were due back any minute now.

"Amora Buckley!" She heard the door slam open and the hiss of Kathy. "Why did I just find out from some Ravenclaw that you and Harry kissed on Christmas Day! And why wasn't I informed of this?"

Amora felt herself grow pale. She whirled around from where she had been smoothing out her duvet covers, her heart in her throat as she watched the curly-haired blonde place her hand on her hips. She didn't appear truly angry; she was more shocked.

"What?" Amora whispered, her voice cracking, "Is it going around already? Classes haven't even started yet!"

Kathy frowned. "Well, apparently you kissed in front of half of the Gryffindors, so--"

"There was mistletoe," Amora rambled, running a hand through her hair, "and they were chanting, and I didn't want to embarrass him by rejecting him in front of all of those people..."

Amora failed to mention that she had partly done it for the adrenaline-- for the way that it made her feel in control and superior to Draco, even if he wasn't there. He was bound to find out now, though.

"Well, people are talking about it," Kathy mentioned casually, not seeing a problem as she moved her trunk on top of her bed opposite Amora's. "I'm sure people will stop once something more exciting happens. The second task is next month."

Amora didn't think she could handle a month of people talking about her. She found herself slipping her shoes back on and slipping her hair back into a low, messy bun on her way towards the door.

"Where are you going?" Kathy raised her brows. "I thought we were going to catch up--"

"Later, Kathy." Amora yanked open the door. "I have to go find Harry."

She paced the corridors of the old castle, smiling weakly at her fellow classmates whenever she passed them. Amora wasn't really sure what she was thinking, she just knew that she had gone too long without talking to Harry and she had to make sure that they were still okay. It felt like they had only just made up and she was already finding a way to ruin everything.

Amora was about to rush up the stairs when she felt a pair of hands grab her and yank her backwards. She gasped loudly, her soul nearly leaving her body when she was shoved up against one of the walls. Her brown eyes widened at the sight of Draco Malfoy inches away from her, a scowl on his face as he kept his hand loosely around the bottom of her neck.

"Draco, what the--"

"Potter?" Draco spat with a glare, lips curling as he watched her squirm beneath him. "Don't tell me it's actually true? That you're really that much of a slut?"

Amora was appalled by the accusation, grabbing her wand out of her pocket and digging it into Draco's chin. Despite the fact that his hand hadn't even had a grip on her neck before, it faltered even more, his fingertips trailing from her skin and leaving goosebumps in their wake.

"Don't you dare call me a slut!" Amora growled at him, making sure to dig it roughly against his skin so that he winced a little. "You must not know the meaning of the word!"

Draco seemed to snap out of his daze and he grabbed her wand, lowering it between them. She realised how close he was to her, his minty breath lingering and his eyes so near that she could see specks of blue amongst the misty silver pools.

"I'll call you whatever I want," Draco replied bitterly, "So it is true then? You and Potter?"

Amora's face faltered. "It's not like that. It- I don't fancy Harry."

"But you kissed him." Draco stepped even closer, his cologne infesting Amora's senses in the most intoxicating way.

Her heart leapt in her chest when his large palm reached up to grab her jaw, softer this time, a scowl on his face as his eyes watched her mouth. His thumb moved out to run down her lips, dragging her bottom lip down with it. Amora's eyes were wide and she tried to keep her breathing normal, but it was hard-- for some reason, she wasn't shoving him off of her.

"But I kissed these lips first," Draco whispered darkly, now locking eyes with her. "Not Potter, me."

Amora was stunned into silence, her breath hitching in her throat when Draco's hold on her grew a little tighter. He jerked her jaw up a little more to face him clearer.

"Reply to me when I speak to you."

"What has gotten into you?" Amora swallowed thickly, finally finding her sense of control as she shoved him away from her, watching his eyes darken even more.

Draco remained silent, his breathing slightly heavy as he ran his hand across his jaw. Amora noticed that his knuckles were still slightly red. He still looked furious.

"I've had some time to think," Draco drawled, "About that night on the Astronomy Tower. You said to come and find you when I was better at... whatever."

Amora blinked. "And?"

"Then I heard about your little lip-locking session with Potter," Draco spat, "So you need to tell me right now, Amora. You need to be honest with me."

His voice grew less harsh but still stern and he took a few steps towards her from where she'd shoved him away. Amora felt like her bottom lip would start to tremble if she didn't purse them together.

"Who's it gonna be, Amora? Because you can only have one of us, and I don't share. Ever," Draco hissed under his breath, "Potter or me?"

You, her mind blurted immediately. 

Amora stared at him, her eyes slightly wide. She was struggling to progress what Draco was trying to make her do. He was trying to make her choose between him or Harry, without any real declaration of feelings on his behalf. Hermione might say it's obvious that he likes her, but Amora needed to hear it before she believed it. Although, she excepted no less than complicated when it came to Draco.

Her silence caused Draco's curled lip to settle into a frown, the fury in his eyes sizzling away to reveal what Amora assumed was worry. He tried not to show it, his fists clenched, but she could tell. She appreciated him putting himself out there for her a little, but she needed more. She needed him to tell her-- no confusing messages or glances that she's supposed to understand. 

"Draco, you're confusing me," Amora admitted, feeling her eyes start to well with tears, "You act like you hate me one moment, and now you're asking me to pick you over Harry? You need to say it out loud if you mean it."

"What do you mean say it out loud?" Draco sneered before he realised what she was implying, his glare softening again. "You want me to tell you that I like you?"

He looked a little paler than usual. Amora supposed that he grew up not able to communicate how he felt. She could tell simply by looking at Draco's father. However, if he wanted her, if he really wanted her, then he needed to. She needed to know if he was really worth risking her friends for. She felt guilty for even thinking about betraying them. 

Amora felt her heartbeat pick up. "Yes. How should-- Do you just expect me to read between the lines all of the time?"

"I told you I'm not good at it," Draco swallowed thickly, his hand pressing against the wall by her head. "I don't like feeling like this."

Amora found herself reaching up and grabbing his hand from off of the wall so she could pull it down between them. This was wrong, this would hurt everybody she loved, but she wasn't thinking about anybody else right now. She was just thinking about Draco and herself and how much she wanted him to say it out loud.

"Feeling like what?" The brunette whispered softly.

Draco glanced up at her from where he'd been staring at their intertwined hands. Any sign of previous anger had been washed away. He looked as though his face was about to crumble, reluctance and fear written all across it.

"Jealous." Amora could tell it sickened Draco to say it out loud. "Hurt."

"Because I kissed Harry?" She whispered.

Draco dropped her hands at the reminder, jaw clenching as he looked away. "Obviously. And I don't like feeling powerless around you."

"Powerless?" Amora scoffed, "I'm hardly intimidating--"

"I'm trying here!" Draco cut her off, exasperated, making her feel guilty. "Like you asked! And for all I know, I could be making a fool of myself here. After all, you're the one going around kissing other people. Are you making me admit this as some sort of power thing? Do you even..."

"Do I like you?" Amora whispered, suddenly feeling her own heart start to pound when she saw him hesitantly nod. "For some reason, I do, Draco."

His eyes snapped up, wide. "What?"

"I'm not going to repeat it any louder." Amora glanced around the desolate corridor that they were in, grateful that nobody had wandered down it yet. "You... You frustrate the bloody life out of me, but I'm drawn to you. And it's..."

"Awful," he finished for her and she nodded in agreement. "I know."

Amora swallowed, looking up at him. She had to crane her neck to see him, considering how he was so much taller and how close he was. If she moved an inch closer, their bodies would be pressed against one another. Never in a million years did she think that she would be in this position with him. 

"What are we gonna do about it?" She whispered, and she didn't mean it in any way but innocently, however, Draco's eyes darkened consequently.

His blond hair fell in front of his forehead even more as he bent down slightly, his hand holding her jaw but much more gently this time. She shivered and found herself moving closer, wanting to be wrapped up in his arms like Christmas Eve on the Astronomy Tower.

Draco's silver pools flickered down to her lips, and after a second, when Amora only placed her hand on top of his wrist lightly, he dove down and connected their mouths. She was backed up against the wall, his hand holding her face as he turned his own, his nose brushing her cheek in a way that made her immediately wrap her arms around his neck.

Draco groaned against her lips when he felt her hands reach his hair, her long nails lightly scraping through his scalp before tugging slightly at his platinum locks. It sent vibrations through Amora, her heart pounding harder when he pressed his body against hers, his knee between her legs and keeping her against the wall.

Just as the large hand gripping her waist started to make gentle movements up and down towards her hips, Amora broke away, breathing heavily. Draco panted, his forehead pressed to hers and both of their lips swollen and much rosier than usual.

It only took a few seconds for the guilt to settle, realising who she had just made out with. Harry's enemy, a boy who believed in Pure-blood supremacy, the son of a man who wanted her mother out of Hogwarts... But right now, with one hand smoothing her cheek over and his thumb tracing her lip again, he was none of those things. He was just Draco.

"There," he muttered, "not a trace of Potter on you now. You're pure again."

Maybe Amora should have been offended-- she could have yelled that she shouldn't be a competition between the two boys and that he shouldn't say things like that. She wasn't sure if he was referring to both their Pure-blood statuses, or if he simply meant that he kissed her last and not Harry, but she couldn't find it in her to scold him. Amora was stunned into silence, her eyes slightly wide because it wasn't disgusting to her, it was hot.

Draco took a few steps backwards, a cocky smirk on his face. Before he could say anything else, the brunette's name was called eagerly and they heard a trunk smack to the floor. Both glanced over and saw Leon bounding over, wrapping Amora into a hug. Draco scowled slightly.

He'd always felt a little threatened by Leon, seeing as people often said he was the most attractive boy in their year group. He looked the complete opposite of Draco, brown hair and brown eyes, and acted the complete opposite too.

He also hadn't been fond of Amora being best friends with him since developing some... feelings for her, but it looked like Leon was dating that curly-haired Hufflepuff. Draco guessed they would have acted by now if they had any feelings for each other anyway. 

He didn't stick around to watch the two best friends reunite. Instead, he headed back to the Slytherin dorms, feeling like an accomplished man.

D.M + A.B

"Malfoy's a psychopath, I'm calling it now!" Susan's words nearly made Amora break into a sweat, her brown eyes widening suspiciously as she looked up from her book.

"What?" She blurted far too quickly.

She had been paranoid ever since stepping foot inside the dormitory that her housemates would automatically know what she had done. Amora didn't think she was the type of girl to make out with someone she wasn't even dating— especially somebody like Draco Malfoy— but apparently, she was.

Either this was what growing up was or Draco was bringing out sides of her that she didn't know she had. Maybe both.

"Well, Zabini told Greengrass who told Turpin who told Finnigan who told Hopkins—"

"Get to the point!" Hannah exclaimed from where she was plaiting her hair in her mirror, getting ready for bed.

"Yeah, why's Malfoy a psychopath?" Zena questioned, "you know, aside from the superiority complex and the bullying first years and—"

Amora frowned and was rather thankful when her list was cut short by Susan.

"So, Justin told me that Hopkins said that it was Malfoy who did the Stinging Jinx on Crabbe and Goyle!" Susan announced, "his own two best friends! Amora, I do hope that you're still not hanging around with him like at the start of the year? It sounds like he has no limits!"

Amora was dazed, remembering the scrapes and bruises on Draco's knuckles all of a sudden. Ron had mentioned on Christmas Day that Goyle had a broken nose. She found herself with furrowed brows as she thought deeply, wondering why Draco would have done such a thing to his supposed friends... and if it had anything to do with what they'd done to Amora after the Yule Ball. But how would he even know?

"Amora?" Hannah sang, waving her hand in front of the brunette's face. "You started daydreaming!"

"Sorry," Amora replied bashfully, "um, no, no. I don't see much of Draco anymore these days. Besides, I would never have called him much of a friend."

It was sort of the truth which was why it fell past her lips like velvet. However, what she failed to mention was that she had seen Draco already today, and they'd done more than just hang around him. The adrenaline had felt so surreal and she found herself craving for the next time she'd be under his scrutinising gaze.

It was a complete one-eighty to how she used to feel about him. A year ago, she would roll her eyes simply at the thought of him. Months ago, she wouldn't admit even to herself that she might be attracted to him. Today, she'd said and done things she never thought she would ever do with Draco Malfoy.

"Did you catch up with Harry?" Kathy questioned, changing the subject.

Amora shook her head. "I'll try and find him tomorrow."


	20. Chapter 20

"Harry!"

She had been trying to spot him for the past two days, but it seemed he was either skipping on meals or coming in at completely different times to Amora. Now, however, her eyes were locked on her brunet target, who was clearly trying to ignore her, as she rushed through the crowded corridor. People stared as she swerved around them, jumping up on her toes to see over all of the heads.

"Harry Potter!" She called again desperately.

Ron, who was coming down the hallway in the opposite direction, widened his eyes when he saw that Harry was ignoring Amora, pausing in his tracks. Harry grabbed Ron's arm in an attempt to drag Ron back in the direction that Ron had come from, but Ron yanked Harry and forced him to keep still, jerking his head at Amora for her to come over.

She did a small jog over, a hurt expression written on her face that she couldn't get rid of. Ron forced Harry to turn around and Harry tried not to look at her for a few seconds before she spoke his name again.

"Harry, I thought we were okay?" She knew it was a rather dumb question, but she had no idea what to say.

Nothing she could tell him was going to make him feel any better.

"We are." Harry nodded quickly, swallowing.

Amora frowned deeper. "Oh..." She feigned confusion to avoid confrontation. "Did you not hear me just calling your name, then?"

"I must have been too deep in thought," Harry rambled, and it was so obvious he was lying, earning a nudge and a glare from Ron. "You- You know, second task coming up and all."

She felt a pang in her heart that he was lying to her, but maybe Harry was on the right lines with ignoring that it had ever happened. Maybe then the problem would fade and he would be able to move on.

"Oh, right," she said, "Yeah, Cedric was talking about it all of Boxing Day. Have you worked out what your egg does yet?"

"No, not yet," Harry admitted and Ron rolled his eyes at the pair.

"Well, good luck, then," Amora breathed, her brows knitting together when Harry nodded and averted his eyes once again.

"You too-- I mean, thank you," Harry stammered before he sent her a small wave and then grabbed Ron harsher than last time, dragging the redhead away and out of sight.

Amora wasn't quite sure what to make of the interaction, but she tried not to dwell on it too much. Hermione had told her that Harry seemed a little distracted but that it was nothing he couldn't handle. Amora just hoped that her friend wasn't sugarcoating it for her sake.

It was a dreary Wednesday. January was Amora's least favourite month ever. It was so cold in Hogwarts and the snow had been replaced by heavy rainfall, which she only liked if she was in the comfort of her dormitory, blankets wrapped around her frame and a good book in her hands. Teachers were also starting to pile the homework up more, reminding them all that their O.W.L's were now just a year and a half away.

"At least he spoke to you," she heard Leon behind her, making her flinch. "Next time, don't run away from me to chase Harry. I didn't know if you'd gone left or right."

Amora huffed quietly. "I wish I never kissed him."

Leon tutted the shorter girl, tapping the end of her nose and making it scrunch up. "You're quite the heartbreaker, aren't you, Amora? Let's hope your next victim takes it better than Potter."

"Leon!" Amora hissed at his pure excuse of a joke. "It's not funny and I didn't mean to hurt him. If I knew this would have come out of it I would have just left the stupid photo frame there for the Christmas break!"

Leon frowned. "Hey! I thought you loved the photo frame."

Amora rolled her eyes with a small smile, her face softening as she glanced up at her best friend. "Of course I do. You know what I meant. This is a disaster! I don't know what I can do to make it up to him, because I'm starting to feel like every time I'm nice to him, he likes me even more!"

"Maybe some distance is what you need right now?" Leon suggested casually as they both strolled towards the Hufflepuff common room. "It's what Harry seems to want, anyway. Then he'll realise how much he needs you as a friend and he'll come back."

"I miss him," Amora admitted as Leon tapped out the password on the correct barrel.

"Just give him some time, Amora."

D.M + A.B

Amora groaned against Draco's lips, her breath hitching when his mouth trailed down from her lips to her jaw. She tilted her head upwards, allowing him full access to her neck. He left open-mouthed kisses down her soft skin, his hot minty breath leaving goosebumps in its wake.

Amora seriously didn't understand how she had ended up pinned against the Astronomy Tower wall with Draco Malfoy assaulting her neck, but there she was. One moment they had been talking and the next they were a mess of wandering hands and hormonal words. Her hands tugged at his white-blond hair a little and pulled Draco up after a few seconds.

"No marks," Amora whispered.

Draco frowned in disappointment but seemed to respect her wishes, retreating from her neck back to her lips. He was content there, his tongue swiping at her bottom lip to ease them into a more intense makeout session. His hands gripping her waist tugged her closer so that their fronts were pressed against each other, no room between them for even a piece of paper.

This wasn't the first time that this had happened. For about two weeks now, Draco and Amora had been meeting up and just making out, maybe a couple of times a week. It was strange-- barely any words were exchanged, and when they were, they were never as lovely as Amora hoped they would be.

In her ideal universe, Draco would greet her with a sweet nickname and hold her hand and they'd talk about their days and their classes before the kissing ensued. However, that wasn't what a relationship was like with Draco Malfoy-- if you could even call it a relationship.

They definitely were not boyfriend and girlfriend. Draco never asked her, and Amora certainly wasn't going to ask him. They didn't even really talk about things like that. It seemed like, for now, they were both content with the secret makeout sessions around the castle. 

Draco would stare at her whilst she was working or with her friends in the Great Hall, more open about his thing for her, but Amora continued to shy her gaze away from him, becoming distraught whenever she thought about what her friends or her mother would say if she told them.

It was for that reason that she was sort of glad that he never asked.

It never went further than kissing and a little bit of groping perhaps. Amora let him know that she wasn't comfortable with it yet when his hand had trailed a little too far-- she warned him that they were too young for anything further. Besides, Amora didn't really want her first time to be propped up against the Astronomy Tower wall and over in two minutes in an attempt to hide from any classmates or teachers.

Amora pulled back from Draco's lips, the two of them staring at each other. Draco's hand reached up and cupped her jaw, his thumb swiping at her swollen lips and drying them a little. His silver gaze was so intense that Amora blushed beneath it, but it wasn't judging or cruel-- no, he looked mesmerised by her.

"I love when you look like this," Draco whispered, "lips swollen, hair messy. So beautiful."

Amora didn't know what to say, her hands that were around his neck just reaching up to run through his blond locks. She was glad that he didn't wear any gel in it anymore-- she liked how soft it was, her dainty fingers threading through it. Amora thought Draco's eyes nearly fluttered shut in comfort, but he pursed his own swollen lips and stopped himself, ducking down to peck her one more time.

"Curfew's soon," Amora reminded absentmindedly as she trailed her hands from the back of his hair and down the broadness of his shoulders.

They passed down his arms and reached his hands, grabbing them into hers. They were large against her hands, and not to mention freezing. Draco looked down and watched her as she played with the serpent ring on his finger for a second, just twisting it as she admired it. He pulled his hand away as soon as he felt his heart leap.

Amora tried not to take offence. "Could you grab my scarf for me?" She asked.

Draco glanced over to where he'd hung it over the railing of the tower. "It's right there."

"I know, but I can't go to the edge," Amora admitted.

"You're scared of heights?" The blond appeared amused, quirking an eyebrow as an actual smile crossed his face. Sure, it was a teasing one, but he looked bright.

"I thought you already knew that," Amora muttered, "don't tease."

"I won't, I won't," Draco said half-heartedly, going towards the edge and grabbing her scarf. "Come get it, Buckley," he grinned.

Amora's eyes widened a little. "Don't be a dick, Draco."

He wouldn't really make her come to the edge to get it— would he? Amora admittedly didn't know much about Draco. She could make her assumptions based on his actions though, and therefore she wouldn't put it past him to force her to come closer to the edge to retrieve her scarf.

Draco grinned slyly, running his tongue across his teeth. "I'm being serious. Come on. Maybe you'll get over your fear of heights."

"I highly doubt it!" Amora huffed, taking one tiny step closer and feeling her knees grow wobbly at the thought. "Knowing you, you'd shove me off the bloody Astronomy Tower!"

"You might live," Draco shrugged.

"If I had wings," Amora retorted, "which, the last time I checked, I do not. And so, therefore, I will die if I come any closer."

Draco rolled his silver eyes. "You won't fall."

"Just chuck it to me."

"Just trust me."

Amora wasn't sure if she trusted Draco. She wanted to— so badly. Of course, she knew he wouldn't actually push her off the side, but Draco loved to tease her. She didn't doubt for a second that he might shove her as a joke— not hard enough to send her over, but hard enough to scare her.

"Okay," Amora blurted, shocking Draco a little. "Okay. I'm going to take some steps forwards. But, just so you know, if you so much as make a motion to push me, then I will never let you kiss me again. And I mean that."

Draco knew she was stubborn, so of course she meant it. He watched her take a tiny step closer towards him. Then another and another. She was about four feet away from him now and her eyes widened as he leaned against the railing behind him, placing his hands on the metal poles.

"Draco..." Amora warned.

"I'm not touching you!" He claimed.

"Yeah, but you're getting close," Amora swallowed and forced another step. "Okay. I think I'm close enough now."

Draco smiled a little and handed her scarf out to her. Amora grabbed it and took a couple of steps backwards.

"Wasn't so bad, was it?" Draco teased, watching her roll her eyes and huff as she pulled the Hufflepuff scarf around her neck.

"I hate you," she muttered and pulled her dark hair out of her scarf. "Now we really might miss curfew."

Draco moved towards her and grabbed her shoulder, steering Amora to turn around and head for the hatch leading back into the castle.

"Come on, then. I know a shortcut."

Amora nearly smiled at Draco's ability to be nice to her. Their relationship was strange— she knew that by morning they'd go back to pretending that the other didn't exist, but when night fell again, they'd be longing to see one another again. 

She wondered if she would ever fall in love with him. She didn't think he could fall in love with her. Amora didn't think Draco was impossible of love, but he seemed like he'd put up barriers far too high for him to take down for somebody like her. In the long run, she bet he'd end up with some beautiful, Pure-blood Slytherin. 

However, anything was possible. Amora wondered if she'd get her heartbroken by him. It was definitely possible, what with his lack of filter and brain full of conservative views. She could see herself falling in love with him, and that sort of terrified her, because she had never imagined liking somebody like Draco, let alone falling in love with somebody like him. She'd always imagined somebody more like Harry, which made it all the more confusing because if she wanted to, she could have him. 

But Amora wanted Draco. 

She craved the way his hand felt against her skin or the way he looked at her. How he murmured softly to her when nobody was around, or the way his eyes crinkled when he smiled. She had yet to hear a genuine laugh rather than a dry chuckle, but she was sure she would get it out of him someday. 

Amora didn't know how long someday would be. Maybe Draco was temporary rather than permanent. After all, it wasn't like she could bring him home to her parents, and she didn't know how his parents felt about Hufflepuffs, but they certainly did not like Professor Buckley. Everything was a mess. It was like the universe screamed at them to stay apart, but something else was continuously pushing them together. 

For now, secret kisses would do. She would worry about her feelings later-- if they ever became strong enough for her not to ignore. 

She secretly hoped not. 

...


	21. Chapter 21

Late January trailed past and Amora was thankful. She'd gotten the worst month of the year out of the way and now she just had to get through two more freezing months. All she wanted was for spring and then summer to come, where the castle was brighter and the air was warmer.

Amora had her head down for most of the month. It was finally starting to dawn on her how close O.W.Ls really were, and how much she had to remember. She wouldn't say she was a particularly bad student, but at the same time, her mother often told her that she had the memory of a sieve.

She often studied in the library with Hermione and Leon. Or rather Hermione would study and Leon and Amora would attempt to from the opposite side of the table. Viktor Krum sometimes joined them, much to Amora's discomfort. He sat there with a book, not even reading it, whilst he stared at Hermione the entire time.

Leon had asked Kathy to be his girlfriend. It sort of made Amora jealous to see them so happy together. They were both amazing people with the same morals and interests, and everybody loved them together. In fact, they were so happy with one another, that Amora hadn't seen much of Leon or Kathy at all lately. When she was with them, it was like they were in their own little world of being in love. Even Professor Buckley had mentioned how sweet they looked together.

She imagined being in an actual relationship with Draco. Would he actually be sweet with her or would they continue with the on-off thing they currently had? No doubt would they argue a lot— they were polar opposites. And nobody would like them together either. She bet her mother would have a heart attack and Leon would freak out. Not to mention what the Golden Trio would think.

Amora wasn't silly enough to think that she could change Draco. Besides, that wasn't why she was with him. As much as it went against her original beliefs, Amora liked Draco. His sarcastic sense of humour made her laugh sometimes, and he always kept her on her toes with his witty remarks. He was unapologetically himself and so confident and elegant. Amora admired him for that.

His views on blood and Muggles would have to change though. Before, Amora would have never liked somebody with such prejudice views, but it was as if a cover was placed over her eyes and her brain spat out excuse after excuse as to why he was supposedly different. She wished he wasn't. Before she fell asleep, she pictured him happier than he was-- happier with the world around him, that was. He didn't curl his lip at imperfection and he thought for himself rather than his parents.

"What are you thinking about?" Hermione asked her from where they were sitting at the Gryffindor table, casual chatter going on around them. "You seem so lost in your own head recently. Don't you think, Leon?"

Leon glanced up at the mention of his name, stopping with the Eskimo kisses that he was giving Kathy. His eyebrows raised at Hermione and he offered her a quirked smile.

"Hmm?"

Hermione sighed. "Amora. She seems like she's been thinking a lot lately. Maybe too much."

"Oh..." Leon unwrapped his arm from around Kathy's shoulders and swivelled on the bench to face Amora. "I haven't noticed," he admitted. "Are you okay?"

Amora rolled her eyes in amusement. "I'm fine. Hermione's worried for no real reason. I was just thinking about the Charms essay due next week and how I need to get a headstart on it tonight."

Kathy huffed. "Amora, you've been studying so much in the evenings-- I barely see you anymore! And I love the other girls, but it's not the same."

Amora nearly blushed, thinking of the real reason that she didn't see much of Kathy in the evenings. It had something to do with a certain silver-eyed blond-haired boy and the Astronomy Tower-- or if that was busy, the nearest cupboard.

"I know, I know," Amora swallowed, avoiding eye contact as she shoved around the peas on her plate. "I've just been thinking a lot about how O.W.Ls are next year, and I want to do well in them. I've actually started bringing my Herbology grade up this year, but it's hard work."

That wasn't a total lie. Amora was pretty good with the half-lies she dished out.

"If you're feeling too stressed or under pressure, I'm always here to help," Hermione promised, holding her hand out and placing it on top of Amora's, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "I know I said I prefer to study alone, but I can make an exception for you."

Amora found her eyes melting and her smile softening. "Marry me, Hermione."

Hermione giggled, shaking her head before she felt two people sit down either side of her. Amora's eyes widened slightly at the sight of Ron but more importantly, Harry. It had been two weeks since she'd tried to speak to him in the hallway, and whilst they'd shared awkward nods and smiles in the hallway, that had been it.

"Hi, Harry," Amora blurted.

Harry looked startled like he was expecting them to ignore each other and pretend everything was fine. Although, as soon as the confusion left his green eyes, he gave her a small smile.

"Hi, Amora," he replied quietly.

"Hi, Ron," Ron grumbled under his breath.

"We were just talking about studying." Hermione tried to ease the tension, glancing around at everybody as if to check nobody else had anything more interesting to say. "Amora's been studying most evenings."

The ginger-haired boy beside Hermione looked positively bored, however, he seemed to perk up a little a second later, his hand halting from where he'd been about to put some chicken on his plate. He glanced between Harry and Amora.

"Have you now, Amora?" Ron asked suspiciously.

Amora's heart leapt, panicking for a second that maybe Ron had seen her sneaking off with Draco or noticed that she had been heading in the opposite direction of the library.

"Yes," she replied, far too quickly to be natural.

Nobody seemed to pick up on it.

"Harry's been struggling to find the motivation to revise a lot recently, maybe you could help him," Ron suggested casually, and Amora perked up a little-- nearly thanking Ron on the spot for trying to mend their friendship.

"Oh, of course," Amora exclaimed, forgetting for a moment that studying had been an utter lie, but she was all too excited to become friends with the Potter boy again that when she remembered a second later, it didn't matter. "Would you like to revise with me, Harry?"

Harry nearly blushed, starting to stammer. "O-Oh, that's not necessary--" Upon seeing the wounded expression across Amora's face, he quickly changed direction. "But that would be great, thank you. What do you say about the library in an hour?"

"Great," she replied, "I'll see you there."

Amora knew she would have to cancel with Draco, but they'd already met up three times this week. He would probably be okay with them not seeing each other tonight. Although, they hadn't seen each other yesterday either. It wasn't like either felt the need to be with each other 24/7, it was just fun and it felt addictive.

She finished up her dinner about five or so minutes later, after listening to Kathy tell the story about how her younger brother had knocked over the Christmas tree for the second time. Her mind had been in another place though, only snapping out of her daydream when she saw a flash of blond hair leave the hall. It appeared as though she had lurched awake as she suddenly straightened up and slipped out from her seat.

"I need to go and change into comfier clothes," she told the group, "I'll see you in about an hour, yeah, Harry?"

"Of course," Harry replied, nodding to her as she began to leave the Great Hall.

Amora didn't turn for the Hufflepuff common room but rather moved towards the Slytherin one instead. It was down in the dungeons just like hers but on the other side. Draco had disappeared too quick for her to call after him, but at least now she knew where he was. She became more nervous as she thought about letting him down. Surely he would understand. It wasn't that big of a deal-- they could always meet up tomorrow.

The entrance to their common room was behind a bare stretch of stone wall and Amora had heard that the password changed every fortnight-- not that she planned on entering. Nobody outside of Slytherin had entered their common room in centuries, aside from when Harry and Ron had taken Polyjuice Potion to pretend to be Crabbe and Goyle, of course.

Amora glanced around, unsure of what to do now. She didn't know what she had been expecting-- to find Draco outside the common room, perhaps? They weren't due to meet for another two hours anyway, so unless he had somewhere else to go, he wouldn't be leaving anytime soon.

"Buckley," a familiar voice came from behind her, causing her to swiftly turn and face Pansy.

The dark-haired witch was returning from dinner, a glint in her eyes that were nearly covered by her fringe as she moved closer towards Amora. Amora forced a small smile, nervous as she glanced at the other girl. Pansy was known to have a bit of a nasty streak, which had been evident with a few comments she'd slid to Amora in the past.

"Pansy," Amora greeted back, her nerves embarrassingly evident.

"Waiting for someone?" Pansy folded her arms across her chest, but the way she glanced Amora up and down made her feel like Pansy might already know something.

"O-Oh," she thought quickly, "Could you tell Draco that I can't give him the Defence homework tonight? I've had no time to complete it."

Pansy hummed. "Right. I'll let him know. Anything else?"

"Um, no, I don't think so--"

Before Amora could finish her sentence, the entrance to the Slytherin common room opened up and Draco Malfoy himself stepped out. He wasn't dressed in his school uniform anymore but wore a black turtleneck and smart black trousers to match, his silver eyes widening slightly at the sight of Amora and Pansy out in the corridor.

"Oh," Pansy smirked a little, "You can tell him yourself now."

Draco frowned in confusion, looking at Amora expectantly. "Tell me what?" He demanded, not even glancing at Pansy.

"That, ur, that I can't give you the answers to the Defence homework tonight," Amora spoke, hoping that he would catch on.

Draco's face was unmoving for a second before he caught on, his face hardening a little. "Why not?"

"I..." Amora was all too conscious of Pansy still watching them. "I've had no time to complete it. I can give it to you tomorrow?"

"He's busy tomorrow," Pansy interjected, and Amora's heart sunk because the way she said it made Amora know that Pansy was well aware it wouldn't be a five-minute exchange-- she was suspicious of the two of them. "The Slytherins are having a party, sorry."

"Right," Amora's gaze flickered from Pansy and back to Draco who was watching her. "Well, I suppose I'll leave you to it, then."

Draco's eyes didn't move. "Parkinson, leave us."

Pansy frowned. "Wha-"

"I said piss off," Draco spat and Amora felt guilty watching the way Pansy's face fell.

The ebony-haired girl didn't let Draco's words hurt her for too long though, a spiteful sneer covering her face as she shot Draco a harsh glare and stormed into the common room. Draco didn't waste a single second before he grabbed Amora's arm and dragged her towards the end of the hall, giving them some privacy. He didn't release the grip that he had on her arm.

"Why aren't we seeing each other tonight?" Draco demanded.

"I-" Amora didn't plan an answer, and she didn't want to lie. She'd been doing far too much of that recently-- she was actually starting to get decent at it. "I'm revising with a friend in the library."

"A friend?" Draco repeated, waiting for her to elaborate.

"Yes, a friend."

"Who?"

"Harry," Amora murmured under her breath, and Draco quirked an eyebrow.

"You expect me to hear you when you mutter?" Draco questioned and Amora could detect the bitterness in his tone, "Or do you just not want me to know?"

"Harry," Amora repeated louder, hoping to sound more confident. She did. "I'm revising with Harry."

Draco's grey eyes darkened. Amora expected him to start yelling or to roll his eyes and retreat to his common room, but she was taken aback when his finger hooked through the collar of her shirt and tugged her closer towards him. Amora nearly stumbled on her own feet, wide-eyed.

His finger removed itself from her collar and trailed up her neck, placing delicately underneath her chin and tilting her head to face him. Amora didn't back down, trying not to be intimidated by his stern silver eyes or clenched jaw. Draco radiated power and Amora knew that it wasn't a facade-- his blood status made him superior to her, even if she was also a Pure-blood.

"Potter?" Draco muttered, "Well, I certainly hope he doesn't get the wrong idea."

Amora nearly blurted that Draco wasn't even her boyfriend in the first place, but she didn't. Even if they had never spoken about it, there was a mutual agreement that whatever the two of them had was exclusive to them and them only. It wasn't an open arrangement and not up for negotiation either.

"He won't," Amora replied, gently grabbing his wrist and lowering his hand from where it was underneath her jaw. "I know you don't particularly like Harry, but he's my friend, Draco."

"Not particularly liking him must be the understatement of the year," Draco scoffed, "And besides, he's a friend that's in love with you."

Amora cringed slightly at the reminder. "Doesn't mean I return those feelings."

"Of course not," Draco murmured, his lanky hand reaching out to fiddle with the golden lining of her Hufflepuff robes. "But you would blow me off for him." He retreated his hand with a glare.

"I- I wanted to make amends with him. This has been my first chance in weeks, Draco." Amora started to grow angry. "Surely you would understand?"

"No, I don't," Draco spat, "But you have fun with Potter. Well, as much fun as you can have with somebody as plain and boring as Scarhead."

"Draco!" Amora gasped, appalled, "How could you call him that? Given what his scar means, after all!"

"I have no sympathy for him," Draco seethed, expression as cold as ice.

Amora scoffed in disgust. "You know what? I will have fun with Harry! Much more fun than I could ever have with somebody as nasty and vile as you."

"Fine," Draco growled as Amora shoved him by the shoulder and pushed past him, heading off down the hall with a pit of anger in her stomach.

He didn't bother to shove her back or call anything else after her, the dull ache in his shoulder quickly vanishing and moving to his heart as he watched Amora storm away, her figure growing smaller and smaller. Sometimes Draco wished he could communicate what he was actually feeling rather than try to defend himself all the time. But, as quickly as the thought came, it left. Draco grew angrier too.

Stupid Amora.


	22. Chapter 22

Amora and Draco were back to ignoring each other as if they hadn't spent the past four weeks meeting up twice a week for secret snogging sessions. In Defence Against the Dark Arts, where they sat beside each other, it was back to Draco only turning in his seat to speak to Crabbe and Goyle whilst Amora pretended like she couldn't hear them.

A good thing to come out of it was that Amora really was studying now, and she had mended her friendship with Harry. They were pretty much back to normal, which Amora hoped would be the case since it was nearly two months since they had shared the kiss under the mistletoe.

Time was going fast, so fast that the second task rolled around two weeks after Amora's fight with Draco, and with hours left to go, she was stressed. She worried about both Cedric and Harry and what the next task could possibly be. Cedric seemed pretty relaxed, but it had been a good few days since Amora had had a proper conversation with Harry. As far as she was concerned, Hermione and Ron were helping him with his task since he had left it quite late.

Amora sat in the library opposite Kathy and Leon, rolling her eyes when they leaned in and kissed each other for the hundredth time that hour. It wasn't that she didn't like them together, in fact, that was far from the truth, but she missed the dynamic that they all used to have. It was weird seeing two of your best friends snogging each other.

Part of it was probably bitterness because things hadn't worked out with Draco. Amora hadn't expected them to really work out, but she didn't think it would be over so soon. She sort of missed meeting up with him and having him kiss the worries of the day away, leaving her feeling euphoric and calm.

Sometimes, lying awake late at night whilst all of her roommates were asleep, she wondered if she should go up to the Astronomy Tower and see if she would find him there. She always decided against it though. They'd ended so abruptly for a reason.

"Do you guys have the answer to question eight?" Amora glanced up from her parchment, sighing when she saw that Leon and Kathy had their foreheads pressed against each other, eyes locked as they smiled and whispered under their breaths. "Hello?"

"Sorry, Amora," Kathy pulled away, blushing. "What was your question?"

"Number eight," Amora replied, attempting to sound as neutral as possible so that they didn't expect that they were annoying her.

"Oh." Leon looked down at his parchment and then laughed, looking back at Kathy. "Would you look at that, Kath? It seems we haven't completed any questions yet!"

Kathy giggled too and they did the stupid Eskimo kiss that they always did before pressing their foreheads back against one another. Amora loved romance, truly, but this made her feel sick. She grabbed her parchment and quill and slipped them both into her bag, slinging it over her shoulder. They didn't even notice that she'd stood up until they heard her chair scrape back.

"I'm going to call it a night," Amora said, making Leon raise his eyebrows.

"We've only been here an hour," he interjected.

"You know what?" Amora forced a smile as she hummed, "I think I might work better in silence."

"We haven't been speaking," Kathy frowned.

Merlin, they didn't even realise how irritating that they'd been being. It had been for over a month now, too. Even the Golden Trio had complained about it a couple of times, but nobody had to deal with it as much as the Buckley girl who had finally reached her breaking point.

"No, you haven't been talking-- it's actually the sound of your lips smacking together," Amora practically spat, "Or those stupid giggles. Nothing's funny!"

"Amora--" Leon tried to call out to her but she was already storming away. "What's up with her?" She heard him mutter to Kathy, but she couldn't be bothered to turn around.

She had just left the library when she noticed Draco and his friends stood across the foyer, Blaise telling some story. Draco didn't look interested, but as if he had sensed her presence, he glanced up, his silver eyes meeting her copper-coloured ones. It was the first time that they'd made eye contact in two weeks.

Amora froze in her spot, swallowing thickly. Before she could turn to dash towards the Hufflepuff common room, she felt a hand press down on her shoulder, causing her to glance to her left. Professor Sprout, Hufflepuff's Head of House, stood there with a smile on her face.

"Miss Buckley, you're just the lady I was looking for," the curly-haired woman said, "Professor McGonagall has requested to see you in her office!"

Amora immediately frowned, suspecting the worst. "Have I done something wrong, Professor Sprout?"

"Of course not, Miss Buckley," Professor Sprout replied, guiding her in the direction of the deputy head's office. "Well, if you have, I'm sure you're not going there for that."

Amora breathed out a sigh of relief, gripping her bag tighter as she followed the Hufflepuff woman past Draco and his Slytherin friends. She avoided looking since she could feel a familiar pair of silver eyes still watching her, but that wasn't the most of her worries.

Hopefully, Professor McGonagall had good news and not bad news for her. 

D.M + A.B

Draco admittedly hadn't been able to get Amora out of his head for the past couple of weeks. He refused to apologise-- after all, he felt like he truly hadn't done anything wrong. Amora was the one in the wrong. She had cancelled on him to study with his own enemy and even defended him like he was some sort of saint! Stupid Saint Potter.

Harry Potter managed to ruin everything. He won over the entire school simply by being bloody born, stealing all of the attention that should have been given to a Malfoy. Draco was supposed to be a natural-born leader, a force to be reckoned with and the school's most popular boy, yet Harry seemed to take it without care and leave Draco's father disappointed in him. Harry had all these mentors, all of these friends that genuinely cared for him and looked out for him, and he even had Amora.

Whether she realised it or not, Amora was loyal to Potter and his clang of friends. Draco knew that if it came down to it, her Hufflepuff loyalty would lead her on the side of Harry rather than Draco. Harry would probably have to do something seriously evil to get Amora to even think of picking Draco first.

It hurt Draco. It pissed him off. It made him hate Potter so much more than he had before he became infatuated by Amora Buckley.

He knew that he wanted them to have whatever it was that they had back again. He'd been in a bad mood ever since, taking out his frustration and anger on his friends. Draco knew Amora was stubborn-- just as stubborn as he was, perhaps. She wasn't going to come after him and so, as much as it truly pained his ego, he was going to have to be the one to make amends with her.

Draco just hoped two weeks was long enough for her to cool down because he didn't feel like blabbering lies such as 'I didn't mean what I said about Potter', because the honest truth was that he did mean it.

So, when he saw her exit the library in a seemingly bad mood before being led away by Professor Sprout, Draco followed behind. The Herbology teacher led Amora all the way to Professor McGonagall's office and then inside. About a minute later, Professor Sprout exited, but not with Amora.

Draco frowned and decided to move out from the corner. He made it appear like he had accidentally stepped out in front of the short, plump woman, making her gasp before releasing a small laugh. She planted a hand down on Draco's shoulder, nearly making him grimace. Working with plants meant her fingernails were always so dirty.

"Sorry, Mr Malfoy!" Sprout said cheerfully, "I almost didn't see you there."

Draco forced a charming smile. "It's no problem, Professor Sprout. I was actually wondering if you knew when Amora Buckley would be leaving Professor McGonagall's office? We were supposed to be doing homework together, you see."

The beam on the woman's face slowly faded into a grimace. "I'm afraid that is none of your business, Mr Malfoy," she said, somewhat regretfully. "I wouldn't hang around for Miss Buckley. Curfew is soon."

As she left down the hall, Draco frowned, glancing at the door that Amora had disappeared into. Curfew wasn't for another hour-- how long could she possibly spend in there? He ignored Sprout's advice and waited for about fifteen minutes before he grew bored. He released a huff and stood from where he'd been leant against the wall.

He would talk to Amora tomorrow, hopefully before the second tournament. 

D.M + A.B

Amora lurched awake, gasping for air and feeling icy water soak her skin. Her eyes were bleary as she blinked out the water, barely aware of what was happening other than the cheers echoing around her and an arm wrapped around her waist. She finally blinked enough to gain her vision back and everything came flooding back in her brain.

She remembered Professor McGonagall telling her that she was a part of the second task before things went black, and now she was only just waking up, her cousin pinned to her side as Hogwarts students cheered them on happily. She shivered as Cedric began to swim over to one of the wooden stands, taking her with him.

Amora coughed over the waves that were crashing against her cold skin, holding her hand out to Neville as he helped her up the short ladder. Cedric followed behind, the two of them being wrapped in golden blankets representative of their house, trying to stop their teeth from chattering in the February wind.

"Y-You did it," Amora smiled at Cedric. "You came first."

Cedric grinned and pulled his younger cousin in for a tight hug, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. She heard something shoot out of the water followed by gasps and turned to see Viktor Krum had Hermione in his arms. That must have meant that Harry had Ron to look after.

Before she could turn and give Cedric another hug, immensely grateful for being pulled out of the water despite not even remembering being in there, Cho Chang came rushing over and wrapped him in a hug of her own, pressing her lips against Cedric's.

Merlin, what was it with everybody suddenly getting into relationships?

"Amora!" She heard Leon yell before her best friend dropped down to her side. "Are you okay? I had no idea you were in there! Did you know that was going to happen? Kathy was worried sick when you didn't return to your dorm last night!"

"No, I didn't know," Amora admitted, holding her towel closer to her. "I'm fine, though."

Leon didn't reply but hugged her tightly to him. She held on for a few moments before another splash was heard. Amora craned her neck, pulling away and moving closer to the edge of the platform they were on. Ron and a blonde girl, Fleur's sister, were swimming towards them.

But where was Harry?

Amora's dark eyes darted all around the slightly rocky water, waiting for a familiar head of brown hair to pop up. It felt like she was waiting for an agonisingly long time, her heart in her throat as she waited anxiously. Dumbledore went to stand by the edge, everybody seemingly worried about him.

It felt like hours had gone by, when in reality it had probably only been a minute, as Harry's body suddenly came soaring out of the water and into the air, landing on the wooden platform with a small thump. Amora pushed past her cousin to get closer to the front, standing next to Barty Crouch as she watched their headmaster stumble forwards, placing his hands on Harry's arms.

"Harry!" He exclaimed as Amora shrugged off her towel and wrapped it around Harry. "He's all right."

Everybody was cheering for him, the sound like muffled background noise in Amora's ears as she listened to Harry choke out the water. He had red marks up and down his skin, climbing up to his jaw and resembling lightning strikes.

"Go get him another towel," Seamus ordered, "another one for Amora, too."

She shot the Irish boy a weak smile.

"I want all the judges over here now," Professor Dumbledore commanded.

Fleur dropped down in front of Harry, saying something about being thankful to him, but Amora's eyes were trained on a familiar figure watching them from a distance. Draco seemed to have made it from where the rest of the school was and over to where all of the champions were, wrapped up warm and staring at her back.

Amora stood, her teeth chattering as she contemplated whether or not she should go over to him. She could tell that the same thoughts were running through Draco's own head. Before she could think anymore, a herd of people walked in front of her, blocking her vision of the silver-eyed boy.

Somebody shoved a dressing robe in her hands and she thanked them quietly, wrapping it back around herself. However, when the small crowd had passed less than ten seconds later, the space that Draco had been in was no longer occupied. Disappointment settled in Amora's stomach, a horrible feeling that left her ashamed for even thinking he would bother to come over.

Not that you need him to. He's awful, remember, Amora? You don't need nor miss him.

"Attention!" Dumbledore's voice suddenly boomed out, stopping the 'Krum' chants from happening all around her. "The winner is Mr Diggory!"

Cedric and his Hufflepuff friends all began to cheer and Amora grinned, flashing lights of cameras going off everywhere. Amora was more than proud of her cousin, knowing that this was something that he had wanted since the Triwizard Tournament had been announced all those months ago. It was what he deserved, too.

"...Who showed innate command of the Bubble-Head Charm," Dumbledore continued above all of the cheers and claps. "However, seeing as Mr Potter would have finished first, had it not been for his determination to rescue not only Mr Weasley but the others as well, we've agreed to award him... second place! For outstanding moral fibre!"

Amora cheered, clapping her hands alongside everybody else as she turned back around to face Harry. He was surrounded by his Gryffindor friends and Ron and Hermione, of course. Amora moved forward and grinned at him.

"Congratulations, Harry," she beamed, "You deserve it."

Harry smiled back up at her, teeth chattering. "Th-Thanks, Amora."

D.M + A.B

The Hufflepuff common room was much warmer than the lake had been. After a boat ride back with Leon and Kathy, the brunette had gone straight for the showers and changed into more comfortable clothing. A party was going on and Cedric was the main focus, everybody chanting his name.

"Your cousin is so cool," Kathy muttered, not taking her eyes off of him.

Amora smiled slightly. "He is. He's the best."

Her words held nothing but the truth in them. She meant it. Cedric was not only her cousin but her first-ever friend and one of her best friends ever. She was proud of him beyond more than words could ever express, and he deserved all of the praise that he was receiving.

"What was it like being under the water?" Justin asked her, gaining the interest of a couple of other people too.

Amora frowned slightly. "I don't remember. All I remember is being in McGonagall's office and then waking up freezing and in a lake, hundreds of people screaming Cedric's name."

"Merlin," Ernie laughed, "that must have been well confusing!"

"Innit scary that you didn't even realise you were down there? With all those, like, sea creature and that," Justin continued.

Amora cringed at the thought of something brushing against her unconscious body.

Leon rolled his eyes and his roommate. "Don't freak her out. She's out now."

Hannah sighed. "Well, that was my least favourite task. You couldn't even see them in the water!"

"It was nearly an hour of staring at the lake, really," Susan added, "But Cedric did well, and that's all we could ask for."

Amora smiled. Cedric had come first and Harry had come second. She couldn't have hoped for a better outcome. Well, maybe it would have been better if Draco had actually approached her.

Maybe he didn't care enough. Maybe he just didn't want to in front of all of those people. Come to think of it, she didn't want him to come up to her in front of everyone either. She was pretty sure everybody would be in a state of confusion and then anger.

Simply liking Draco was a betrayal.


	23. Chapter 23

"Buckley."

Amora heard the familiar drawl of her last name and flinched, purposefully attempting to ignore Draco as she hugged her Charms textbook closer to her chest and carried on past the corridor he lurked down. The Malfoy boy didn't seem to take her ignorance lightly, his lip curling and his eyes darkening as he dove around the corner, his long legs pacing until he was walking beside her.

The brunette cursed herself for having short legs and taking this direction towards her next class. This could have all been avoided. Draco could have been avoided if they had never of been trapped inside that stupid library together.

"I'm talking to you, Amora," Draco hissed, grabbing her wrist and forcing her to stop in the busy hallway.

A couple of second years bumped into them from behind, about to snap something when Draco glanced over his shoulder and gave them his fiercest glare. Their eyes widened and their faces paled as they shrunk away, scattering to go to the left of Draco and Amora. Amora rolled her eyes at Draco's dramatic behaviour.

"What do you want?" She snapped back, tugging her wrist out of his hand with an aggressive pull. "I don't have time for your nasty comments, Draco. I have to get to Charms class."

"Flitwick can wait," Draco huffed, grabbing her arm again and this time tugging her around a corner where there were only a few students, all walking in the opposite direction anyway. "I came to say that I..."

Amora folded her arms across her chest and raised her brows. "That you what?"

"That..." Draco's face scrunched up in a mixture of disgust and agony, the words on the back of his tongue tasting and feeling as bitter as venom.

Amora's smirk fell and she shook her head. "If it's this hard for you to say, then you clearly don't mean it, Draco."

"No, Amora," Draco called before she could leave, much to both of their surprises- Draco never pleaded. "No, I mean it," he lied, "I've just... never said sorry before."

Amora's eyes softened slightly. They'd been brought up in completely different environments, you could tell it simply from looking at them. Draco screamed upper class whilst Amora was middle at best. She spent her childhood learning how to bake from her mother, doing all sorts of chores to earn rewards or money, but Draco had been handed everything to him on a plate and told that he was the best of the best, and never to forget it.

Part of Amora thought that maybe it wasn't too late for her to show him that there were other ways of living. She doubted that he had ever enjoyed swimming in the sea until the sun went down, or trying to see who could collect the strangest-looking shell on the beach. He most likely had his house elves do everything for him too-- he probably had no idea how good it felt to spend hours and hours of independent hard work on something and for it to turn out perfect.

"Listen, I know--" Draco swallowed as he sighed heavily. "I know I can be an arse. I don't like to upset you, Amora. I don't know how to... deal with feelings like that. I suppose I should have just told you what I really thought rather than getting so angry about it to... preserve my own feelings, I guess."

Amora nodded gently. "Well, how did you feel?"

"It made me... Merlin, I cannot believe I'm really admitting this. It made me sad." Draco's face scrunched up. "When you cancelled on our time together to revise with Potter."

The brown-eyed girl nodded along with him. "I didn't mean to upset you either," Amora said, deciding maybe it was best that she led the conversation based around feelings before Draco freaked out and tried to take everything back angrily. "I promise I didn't want to cancel on you. I just... I had other issues going on and it was the only way I felt like I could finally resolve them. If that makes sense?"

Draco breathed through his nose. "Yes. It does."

He didn't admit that it still confused him. How she could ditch him for somebody like Potter. However, Draco kept his mouth shut, not wanting for their talk to end in yet another argument. It was inevitable that they would fight, seeing as they were two completely different people with opposing beliefs and different friends and experiences, but Draco decided it would keep his life a lot less stressful if he just agreed with the Hufflepuff standing in front of him.

"And I also... wanted to make sure you were okay," Draco swallowed as he glanced down at her, watching her brows knit together in confusion. "Last week. Second task."

"Oh!" His words flickered the memories in Amora's brain. "Oh, yes, I'm perfectly fine. Thank you for asking. I saw you hanging around."

Draco nodded. "I know. I wanted to come over, I just... I couldn't."

"I know," Amora hummed, "I'm pretty sure you would have given Harry a heart attack."

"Hmm, maybe I'll consider it next time then--"

"Draco!" Amora smacked his arm teasingly, rolling her eyes with an amused smile. "Okay, new rule. If we're going to pick up from where we left off, then you can't make fun of Harry in front of me anymore. All right?"

He didn't even really need to think about it before he nodded in agreement. "Fine," he said, "Second new rule. Keep Potter chat to a minimum. Just his name makes my skin feel like it's crawli-" Amora shot him a pointed look and he shut up. "Right. I forgot."

"I think you have yourself a deal, Mr Malfoy," Amora teased, extending her hand out in front of her.

Draco glanced down at it, his large, pale hand grabbing hers firmly and shaking it. He took note of how warm her hand was as he finally released it, looking down at her and finding her already looking back up, brown eyes wide and innocent. He found himself unable to resist, hand cupping the back of her head as he leaned down.

Amora's eyes flickered behind him when she sensed movement and she shoved him back. It was so sudden that it had Draco shooting her a look between confusion and anger, especially when he saw the pissed off expression on her own soft face. He thought that they were going to go back to what they had before?

"You're an arse, honestly, Malfoy!" Amora sneered making Draco's brows furrow.

"Oi, Malfoy!" Draco's ears perked up at the sound of Ron Weasley's voice and he turned, realising why Amora had shoved him off of her. Ron approached them closely, a furious look on his face. "What's he saying to you, 'Mora?"

Draco scowled at the nickname, glaring at Ron harshly. "What's it matter to you, Weaselbee?"

Amora grabbed the sleeve of Ron's cloak and tugged him closer towards her, away from Draco. "Come on, Ron. He's not worth the hassle. We're going to be late for Charms, anyway."

The brunette was slightly worried about how good she was getting at lying. She closed her eyes briefly as she watched Ron shoot Draco one last threatening look before grabbing Amora and pulling her along. Amora glanced over her shoulder, expecting Draco to be glaring at her for throwing him under the bus, but instead he smirked and winked.

The butterflies came soaring back, almost like they had never left. 

D.M + A.B

Amora slid into her seat beside Leon in Charms class, a glum expression on her face as she grabbed her textbook and slid it onto the oak desk. Despite the way she looked, she was actually over the moon. Making up with Draco had taken three weeks-- three painful weeks of lying in bed and wondering what exactly it was she had lost-- but now it seemed like they were going to go back to how they were before, and this time he seemed like he was willing to be slightly more open.

The sound of Ron slamming his book down on the desk behind Amora made her flinch back to her senses and Harry jumped from next to the redhead. Leon and Amora swiveled in their seats, automatically reading the angry expression on Ron's face. He'd had it ever since he'd caught Amora and Draco in the hallway. It made Amora feel slightly bad, but she couldn't imagine how pissed he would be if he found out what they had really been talking about.

"What's wrong with you?" Harry teased, raising his brows as he grabbed his quill out of his bag.

"Malfoy!" Ron huffed, "the bastard thinks he's all that-- cornering Amora in a hallway."

Oh Merlin. Whilst Amora had previously thought that Ron had only seen her shoving him, she realised that he must have seen how close they were before as well. At least he was interpreting it differently. She knew how suspicious Ron could be-- the last thing she needed was him on her back. She felt guilt pool in her stomach.

"What?" Both Harry and Leon snapped at the same time, heads whirling to the girl for confirmation.

Amora sighed and forced a small smile at Ron. "Ron, it's fine. Seriously. I dealt with him myself. Besides, he was just trying to annoy me about how Krum's gonna win the next task or whatever. Nothing serious."

"Well, I don't believe that for a second," Leon huffed, "Cedric's going to win, obviously." His eyes widened when he remembered Harry and he blushed a little. "Oh-- Oh! Well, I meant, Cedric or you, of course, Harry!"

"I get it," Harry muttered, "Don't worry about it, Leon. Really."

"It's- It's just-- we could do with some Hufflepuff representation in this school, y'know? Gryffindor have won the Inter-House Championship for the past three years in a row! It would be a nice change," Leon rambled.

"For good reason, too," Ron grinned smugly, exchanging a glance with Harry.

"Oh, come on!" Leon scoffed, "Dumbledore is totally biased. I mean, what was that all about in first year? You got fifty points for a bloody chess game, Weasley! Makes no sense."

Amora giggled, remembering the stories that the Golden Trio had told her about their first real adventure together. Ron grimaced slightly at the memory whilst Harry couldn't help but smile in amusement. Before much else could happen, the sound of Professor Flitwick calling for everybody's attention filled Amora's ears and she turned back around in her seat. 

D.M + A.B

The Hufflepuff fifth year girls' dormitory was the best place to be on a Friday evening. It was warm and cosy, Zena's soft music playing in the background of chatter and giggles. It was a place where the five girls felt no need to look or be their best, where unbrushed hair and crumpled pyjamas were perfectly acceptable. It was where advice was shared and laughter bounced off the walls. It was home to Amora.

"What do you guys think the next task is going to be?" Hannah asked curiously from where she sat on top of her trunk at the end of her bed, her nimble fingers twisting and pulling her blonde hair behind her head into beautiful french braids.

"I don't know, but it's still four months away," Susan disclaimed, "That's too much time. I want to know who the champion is now."

"How is Cedric feeling?" Zena questioned the cousin of the boy who was sprawled out on her stomach on her bed, her brown eyes concentrated on the Charms homework they'd been set yesterday.

Amora shrugged lightly. "He's been quite wrapped up in his own things this year, if I'm being honest. Haven't had much time to speak to him. I think he's fine, though. I know my cousin well enough to know when he's scared, and I can tell you that he's not. In fact, I think he's loving all of the attention, to be honest."

Zena giggled in response. "It's too bad he's after Cho, I would totally--"

"Zena!" Amora shrieked, grabbing her pillow and throwing it at the girl as hard as she possibly could.

The dark-skinned girl laughed as Amora's golden pillow smacked into her face, pulling it off of her and throwing it back. Amora grabbed it before it hit her, shaking her head and rolling her eyes in amusement before placing it back in its natural spot.

"Don't worry about it," Zena hummed once they had calmed down again. "Too old for me anyway."

"Good," Amora retorted.

"I think we should play a game," said Kathy, sitting up in her bed and rubbing her hands together. "Like we used to back in first year."

Susan huffed. "Like what?"

"Truth or dare."

The three-worded suggestion from Hannah had multiple people groaning or rolling their eyes, but an excited clap from Kathy who eagerly agreed. Amora kept her mouth shut but stared wearily between all of her friends, hoping maybe they would pick a different one. Otherwise, she might be picking a whole lot of dares tonight.

Despite the stereotype that Hufflepuffs are so loving and caring and would never hurt anyone, they were all teenage girls above that-- and every teenage girl loved to find out something juicy about their friends. It was like second nature. Even Amora couldn't deny it, no matter how much she said she liked to stay out of drama.

"Merlin! What are we, twelve?" Susan retorted.

"It could be fun," Kathy disclaimed, "Besides, it's not like there's much else to do."

"Let's play 'would you rather' instead," Zena suggested, "Back home, my Muggle friends have this card game with the questions on it, but we could easily make up our own."

"Okay," Amora chirped and was the first to climb from her bed, taking her duvet covers with her.

She plonked herself down onto the rug-clad floor in the centre of the dormitory, her legs crossed as her roommates quickly followed her lead. Sat between Kathy and Hannah, Amora looked to Zena and waited for the curly-haired girl to start with a question.

"Okay. It might not be that fun, but it's funny when you start asking the right questions..." Zena said as she thought for a moment. "Like... Okay, would you rather: spend a whole day with Flich or Professor Snape?"

All of the girls made noises of disapproval, a few small laughs following as they all gave their answers. The general consensus was that, even though he truly was quite terrifying and only really tolerant of the Slytherins, they would rather spend the day with Professor Snape than Filch.

As they began to get the gist of the game, more and more questions went around and their voices grew louder alongside their laughs. Fifteen minutes in, Amora's face was red as she leaned against Kathy's shoulder, shaking her head and giggling.

"I have one," Hannah laughed, "Would you rather: go on a date with Leon, sorry Kathy, or go on a date with Draco Malfoy?"

Amora's eyes widened a little as she listened to Kathy's whine when people automatically started to blurt her boyfriend's name. Everybody in their year loved Leon-- the Hufflepuff was the next Cedric, everybody said. He was attractive and funny, not to mention on the Quidditch team. Amora had just never seen him like that.

Draco was also deemed popular, more through fear than likeability, however. Nobody could deny that he was attractive, but he had a cold aura and stern eyes that kept people away. He was also attractive in a different way to Leon. He was more handsome whilst Leon screamed "pretty boy/could be in a boy band of some sort".

"Amora hasn't answered," Susan smirked.

Amora narrowed her eyes slightly. "Well, I think I would go with... Malfoy, I suppose."

Her heart fluttered at the idea of him taking her on a proper date. She wondered if he would ever do something like that for her.

"Malfoy?" Everybody repeated, grimacing.

"Leon's my best friend!" Amora excused her choice. "That would be totally weird if I went on a date with him. Besides, Draco's a Malfoy-- he'll have those Galleons if you know what I mean."

She made money signs with her hands and the girls all laughed with her, the mood instantly lifting from where they had been judging her. Amora barely had a chance to even think about it before they were already moving onto the next question, something about either Herbology or Astronomy class.

The game lasted maybe another twenty or so minutes before the girls decided to call it a night. It was fun to pretend that they didn't have the responsibilities of homework and lessons for that single Friday night. Amora lay tucked up in her duvet, her body relaxed against the mattress and her eyes growing heavier and heavier.

This week had brought her many great things.


	24. Chapter 24

Amora coughed into the back of her hand, her eyes wincing shut for a moment before she swallowed thickly, exhaling through her nose. Her back ached from her position leaning over one of the library tables, books sprawled out in front of her as she attempted to master the Herbology essay that they had been assigned over the weekend. No matter how hard she concentrated on it, Amora couldn't wrap her head around anything that she was actually inking down onto her parchment.

Her eyes had started to feel heavy half an hour ago, her cheek nearly slipping off her hand several times as her brain started to shut down, preparing her for sleep. Last night, Amora had felt too ill to complete her Herbology assignment so she decided to sleep it off, only to wake up feeling ten times worse. Amora had rushed to the library to complete her work, but the common cold she seemed to be sporting was just pleading for her body to head back to bed.

One more foot, she kept telling herself, one more foot of writing and you're done.

The words were repeated so many times in her own head that they began to swirl and lose all meaning; sounding more like a lullaby to her exhausted head. She sniffled absentmindedly as she closed her eyes, this time resting her head down into her arms on the table. Amora figured that she definitely deserved a small break after hours of trying to deal with Professor Sprout's excessive homework, but the longer she stayed down, the more she realised her arms had never felt quite so comfortable.

Every time Amora attempted to lift her heavy skull from her arms, it was as if her body simply wouldn't let her. The smell of books and parchment soothed her pounding head into a small sleep, shallow breaths escaping her lips as her dark hair sprawled out across the table and her belongings.

She couldn't have been asleep for two minutes before she felt cold fingers rub against one of her arms. Amora mumbled under her breath, already totally disorientated. Her lips stammered out what was either Kathy or Hannah's name-- perhaps a mix of the two, she couldn't comprehend-- before she heard a dark chuckle that definitely didn't belong to one of her roommates.

Amora's head flung up and her cheeks heated up at the sight of Blaise Zabini perched on the end of the seat next to Amora, an amused expression written across his dark features. His pearly whites were set on display when he grinned at her, brown eyes flickering down to her parchment.

"Herbology is quite the bore, isn't it, Buckley?" Blaise hummed.

Amora rubbed her hot cheeks, offering him a weak smile. "Perhaps I shouldn't have left it so last minute."

"Perhaps not," he agreed, "I figured I would wake you up before the library closed for the night. Wouldn't want you to get locked in, would we?"

The brunette could only think of the time that it had happened to her and Draco all those months ago. How agitated they had been with each other at first before he was handing her his jumper and then allowing for her to fall asleep against his shoulder, his head resting on top of hers. That night had been the start of something new for both of them. Amora was glad that she had gotten locked in the library that night.

"No, no," Amora said before her eyes widened. "Wait-- the library's closing? What time is it?"

"It's twenty to eight," Blaise replied, "You have twenty minutes."

Amora's brown eyes bulged wide. "I've been asleep for over three hours!" She exclaimed, more awake than she had felt in over twenty-four hours now. "I missed dinner a-and now I have to stay up and finish this stupid thing!"

Blaise watched as she began to shove everything together and slide it into the backpack that was slung over the back of her chair. He tilted his head.

"Meet me tomorrow," Blaise said, his dark hand planting down on top of hers which was uncharacteristically pale-- despite her face being so flushed and slightly sweaty. "I will let you copy mine, but change some of it, of course."

Amora froze. "What?"

Why would he do that? Other than going to the Yule Ball with one another, Blaise and Amora had no reason to talk with one another. Well, she also did have a thing with his best friend, but she was ninety-nine percent sure that Blaise had no idea about her and Draco. She cocked her head to the side, studying his facial expression as if waiting for him to crack up laughing and say that he was joking.

"You look like you're on death's door, Amora," Blaise acknowledged bluntly, "I know you're not blushing because I'm here."

That made Amora chuckle slightly, shaking her head. "I suppose I must look awful. I feel it."

"Have you been to Madam Pomfrey?" Blaise questioned.

"I haven't had the time," she replied as she screwed the cap to her ink back on. "I woke up late because I felt sick last night and I've been doing this up until now."

"Well, like I said, you go rest up and I'll meet you before Herbology tomorrow," Blaise shrugged.

"Ugh, you're the best, Blaise, seriously," Amora grunted as she climbed from her seat and threw her bag over her shoulder. "I'd hug you or something, but I'm certain you don't want to wake up with a cold tomorrow."

Blaise gave a half-smile. "Probably not."

Amora left the library slightly confused but relieved nevertheless. She brushed her hair off of her forehead, her chest felt heavy as she attempted to head towards the Medical Wing. She probably should have gone earlier, but her sickness had been the last thing on her mind.

Truthfully, Amora had been so swamped with classwork and revision that she hadn't been making time for any of her friends, not even Draco ever since they had made up a week ago. They'd tried to get each other alone a few times, but every time one of them was free, the other wasn't. The hardest part of having a secret relationship at a boarding school was definitely the fact that you always had people around you. Even the bathrooms were shared.

Amora trailed through the corridors, trying not to hurt her muscles which ached with a dull pain. Even the staircase looked comfortable to her right now. She could visualise herself laying down on them and falling asleep. Nevertheless, Amora persisted and carried on until she reached the Medical Wing.

Madam Pomfrey handed her a vial of Pepperup Potion, warning her of the side effect that came with it-- steam emitting from her ears for possibly hours on end. Amora was glad that she had waited until the end of the day, pocketing the potion and heading for the Hufflepuff dormitories where she planned on drinking it and then trying to sleep everything off. Her empty stomach growled at her as she passed a group of Gryffindors hanging around one of the portraits.

Her brown eyes landed on none other than Ginny Weasley since she was already staring her down as she passed. Amora gave the Weasley girl a small smile, but Ginny glared back at her.

Amora did a double-take, her eyes widening. Sure enough, Amora's sick brain was not hallucinating the entire thing-- Ginny did not look pleased to see Amora whatsoever. Amora frowned, wondering whether or not she should ask what was wrong, but instead carried on, her thoughts now plagued on what she could have done to upset Ginny. The last time they had spoken to each other had been at the Quidditch Cup, and she seemed fine with her back then.

"Look at you!" Kathy huffed as soon as Amora entered the dormitory. "You look as sick as a bug!"

"I thought it was as sick as a dog," Zena mumbled, her voice going ignored by Kathy who quickly guided Amora over to her bed.

"You missed dinner," Kathy muttered, moving to her own bedside table. "You're lucky I snuck you some biscuits. I know you like to dip them in your tea, but I couldn't get any--"

"I'm fine, thank you, Kathy," Amora smiled grimly as she gently pushed Kathy's hands off of her. "I went to Madam Pomfrey and grabbed some Pepperup Potion. I should wake up as good as new."

Kathy appeared apprehensive, a small frown written across her face. "Where were you today, Amora?"

Amora shot her a weird look. "In the library?"

"During dinner?" Kathy prodded.

"Yes..." Amora tilted her head at her friend. "I fell asleep doing my work."

"Okay," Kathy nodded, almost like Amora had passed some sort of test that she wasn't aware she had been taking in the first place. "Okay. You take your potion and then have a shower. It will help you feel better."

"Yes, mum," Amora yawned sarcastically, pulling the vial out of the pocket of her robe.

She unscrewed the top and knocked the liquid back, her nose scrunching at the taste as it hit the back of her throat and trailed down. Once she was sure that it was all gone, Amora shuddered and placed the empty glass vial onto her bedside table, waiting for a few moments before steam began to gush out of her ears.

"Merlin!" Amora grimaced at the sudden feeling as she stumbled up, glaring when Hannah giggled at her.

"You look like a train," she teased, "Or one of those cartoons where the person is angry."

"I will be angry if you keep laughing," Amora huffed.

Her body was already starting to feel better, the achy feeling in her muscles and limbs leaving her. Her head felt unfogged and when she blinked she didn't feel like she was going to fall asleep. Amora groaned as the steam continued to pour out of her ears-- there were smart wizards out there, how had one of them not come up with a potion that didn't have the side effects of looking like one of Hannah's angry cartoon people?

Amora entered the bathroom and took a hot shower, relieved to find that it was aiding her further. She wished she had gone to Madam Pomfrey earlier in the day. Once Amora had washed her face and her body, she stepped out and glanced in the foggy mirror, a small smile crossing her face at the realisation that the steam had stopped emitting from her ears. She brushed her teeth and pulled on her pyjamas before joining the Hufflepuff girls back out in the bedroom.

"Awh, your ears have stopped," Hannah pouted, "I had another joke to tell you."

"Save it for next time," Amora yawned as she climbed into bed. "I have a day of feeling like rubbish to sleep off."

"Sweet dreams, Amora," Kathy murmured from where she was already curled up in bed.

Other murmurs of similar statements echoed around the room and Amora repeated synonyms back to the witches, her eyes growing heavier and heavier until she finally fell asleep. 

D.M + A.B

Amora wandered into the Great Hall the next morning, her incomplete Herbology essay tucked under her arm as she searched the Slytherin table for a certain fourth-year boy. For the first time this school year, it wasn't for Draco, but rather for Draco's best friend. She felt like she was in the second year again, her brown eyes desperately searching for a glimpse of the beautiful dark-skinned boy that she had convinced herself she was practically in love with.

Her eyes met grey ones nearly immediately. Draco had already been watching her as she walked through the large set of doors, his silver pools trailing down the length of her entire body and then back up to her face. Before she could offer him a small smile, she noticed Blaise heading towards her. He stood in front, blocking her view of her... Well, what was Draco, really?

He wasn't her boyfriend, but they both knew they had feelings for each other. They used to kiss and she was sure they would again once they actually got time alone, but she wouldn't go as far as to label them friends with benefits. That implied that they were doing more things and that there was no romantic intent. It was confusing, but Amora was starting to think maybe it wouldn't be so bad to call Draco her boyfriend, even if only the two of them knew it.

"Amora," Blaise greeted her.

"Blaise," Amora gave him a small, gentle smile as she tried to force the thoughts of Draco out of her brain. "Do you have a free during second?"

"I do, but I have plans," Blaise said, watching as Amora's face fell. "But, alas, my Hufflepuff friend, I decided I couldn't let you down-- I am inviting you for breakfast with the Slytherins instead."

Blaise didn't miss the way that Amora's dark eyes widened, nor the way that her skin seemed to pale at his words. She forced him a shy smile, crinkling her nose as pushed her hair out of her face, attempting to seem confident in front of him. Her tongue darted out to wet her dry lips.

"That's really sweet of you, Blaise, but perhaps I should ask a Hufflepuff for help instead, then." Amora scratched the back of her neck. "I wouldn't want to impose on your housemates."

The Slytherin raised an eyebrow. "Oh, come on, Amora. I see you eating with the Gryffindors sometimes. You're not scared of breakfast with the snakes, are you?" He grinned, swiping his tongue across his perfectly straight teeth. "We don't bite, Buckley."

"No, no, of course not," Amora swallowed, gripping the parchment tucked under her arm tighter. "Um, you lead the way, I guess."

Amora's heart had never pounded so painfully in her chest before. As far as she was concerned, none of the Slytherins hated her for personal reasons, but she knew they would be wary of somebody from another house sitting at their table. She knew they all made fun of each other a lot, sometimes getting too personal, which was something Hufflepuffs tended not to do so much. Amora prepared herself for whatever remarks were going to come her way.

Her brown eyes darted over to Draco, his silver pools shooting her a confused look when he realised that she was following Blaise over. Amora widened her eyes back at him, signalling that this definitely wasn't a choice that she had made by herself, forcing a smile at the Slytherins who glanced up at her when they stopped at their table.

"Hey, Buckley," Theodore Nott nodded casually, sending her a small salute before returning to his toast.

Amora smiled gratefully back at him as she sunk into the chair next to Blaise, right opposite Draco. She was glad that Theo seemed to break the slight tension that had been created by her simple existence, her third-year Charms partner being kind enough to try and show his housemates that she meant no harm.

Truthfully, Amora knew that Slytherins weren't as bad as some students at Hogwarts liked to make them appear. She never held prejudice when it came to anybody-- she liked to make her own mind up for herself. In return, a lot of Slytherins treated her with the same amount of respect. Some were hesitant because they sided with Draco against Harry and the Golden Trio, who Amora spent time with, but it wasn't too bad.

"What is she doing here?" Crabbe huffed from a few seats down.

"I'm helping her with Herbology, Crabbe. Problem?" Blaise raised his eyebrows back, daring him to say something else.

Crabbe sank away from the pressure as Slytherins looked at him, wondering if he would speak up. He didn't. Him and Goyle went back to their breakfast, disgruntled looks on their faces. Amora noticed that she hadn't seen them around Draco as much recently, not since they'd ended up in the Medical Wing because of a Stinging Jinx.

They were telling everybody that they'd done it on each other-- an accident when they were messing around with spell books, and whilst professors took that as their answers, students held their suspicions. Amora had yet to ask Draco about it.

"A Hufflepuff needing help with Herbology?" Pansy smirked from next to Daphne, her eyes burning into Amora's as the brunette glanced up.

Amora raised her eyebrows. "I believe you were struggling with Potions last term, Pansy. It's not always clever to stereotype."

Pansy scoffed and turned away. Amora didn't want to say anything too mean, knowing for a fact that she would become the one under attack if she insulted a Slytherin at their own table. Her eyes drifted to Blaise's hands as he tugged his work out of his bag, revealing his completed Herbology essay. However, Blaise was looking directly at Draco in front of them whose silver gaze flickered between Blaise and Amora and his cereal.

"Anything you want to say, Malfoy?" Blaise questioned, something in his tone that Amora couldn't detect.

She frowned for a second, wondering what Draco could possibly have to say, until she remembered that to everybody else, Draco hated her and she hated him. Amora pursed her lips as she made eye contact with the platinum-haired boy, his lips parting as he hesitated for a couple of seconds.

"It's too early to deal with a Hufflepuff," he said, feigning boredom as he brought his spoon back to his mouth. "I'd rather just ignore Buckley's existence. Hopefully for the rest of my life whilst I'm at it."

The corner of Amora's lip nearly quirked up into an amused smile, knowing that his words were far from the truth. Nevertheless, she resisted, pretending that she was annoyed by his remark.

"Makes my life easier," she quipped.

She looked out of the corner of her eye as Draco bent his head down to eat a spoonful of his cereal, but his lips stretched into a small grin and he shook his head. Blaise handed her his quill and pushed his parchment out so that it was side by side with her incomplete one.

"You just needed the last part of the final subchapter, right?" Blaise asked.

"Yes," Amora nodded, starting to copy down from his work. "You have beautiful handwriting, by the way."

Blaise chuckled. "I have beautiful everything." He pretended to flip invisible hair over his shoulder, making Amora giggle and shake her head. "Thanks, Buckley. Help yourself to breakfast, by the way. Most important meal of the day, you know."

Amora glanced up, looking around at all of the food. She grabbed some porridge and then some honey, putting it instead. She always got told off by her mother for the amount that she put in and her friends often raised their eyebrows at it, Blaise doing the same thing.

"Merlin, Amora. It's a wonder you don't reek of honey," Blaise teased, watching as she mixed it all together and had a spoonful, blowing on the steaming spoon first. "Is it good?"

"Hmm." Amora nodded. "Wanna try?"

Blaise looked like he was considering it for a moment before he nodded in agreement. He grabbed his own spoon and dipped it into her bowl, blowing off the steam just like she had done before shovelling it into his mouth. He made a face of contemplation as he swallowed before furrowing his brows and nodding.

"Not bad, Buckley, not bad," he agreed. "Draco, you need to try this, mate."

"He's already sweet enough," Daphne Greengrass teased from the other side of Draco, glancing up from the last minute work she was doing with a smile.

Blaise and Amora both laughed whilst Draco sent her a sneering glare. "Watch your mouth, Greengrass," he hissed.

The Slytherin and the Hufflepuff returned to their work, Blaise explaining a couple of things as Amora ate her breakfast and quietly copied down everything he was saying, occasionally asking questions when there was something she didn't quite understand. Within twenty minutes, they were done.

Amora grinned at him as she pushed her parchment into her bag and wrapped arm around his shoulder, giving him a side-hug which was more like just a squeeze to the shoulders. She stood up from the bench, tucking her hair out of her face.

"Thanks, Blaise," she said, "I owe you one. If you ever need help with anything, let me know."

"It's no worries, Buckley," he replied as he took a sip of his pumpkin juice. "And I'll let you know."

Amora waved goodbye as she left the Slytherin table, her eyes connecting with Draco's silver ones for what had to be the fifth time as he sent her a small smirk. She began to head back to the Hufflepuff table, secretly quite proud of herself.

She'd survived half an hour at the Slytherin table-- and with minimal insults hurled her way. That was what she called an accomplishment.


	25. Chapter 25

"Amora!" Leon grabbed the sleeve of her robe and tugged her down onto the bench as soon as she reached the Hufflepuff table. "Are my eyes deceiving me or were you just sitting with the Slytherins? And there wasn't a single screaming match?"

Amora rolled her eyes with a small smile. "Believe it or not, Leon, but they don't always flip their shit when they see a robe that's not green," she teased, "Besides, why would they? I'm sure they understood it was a privilege for me to sit at their table. I mean, look at me. I'd be happy to sit next to me too."

"Shut up," Leon grumbled at her joke. "Seriously, though. What was that?"

"Blaise helped me with some homework," Amora shrugged.

"I could have helped you," Leon whined.

"Well, Blaise offered," she shrugged, sipping at some pumpkin juice. "It doesn't hurt to expand your friendships. I know you don't really like to drift outside the Hufflepuffs and a few Gryffindors, but houses don't mean everything. There are some lovely Slytherins. You would get on well with Blaise, I reckon."

"He's too self-centred."

"You just don't like a little competition," Amora teased, "You're scared that people think Blaise is more attractive than you. Malfoy too."

It was common knowledge throughout Hogwarts that the three of them were the most attractive boys in their year group. It wasn't necessarily the most important or exciting news in a school full of magic and wizardry, especially when Harry Potter was in your year, but it was still a highly shared opinion.

"Please, they're barely competition," Leon scoffed, rolling his eyes jokingly as he dramatically flung his arm around Kathy's shoulder as she ate her food. "Besides, I don't care what anybody else thinks. I just care what Kathy thinks."

Amora turned to face Hannah and smiled sickenly sweetly. "Hi, Hannah. Just out of curiosity, who do you think is best looking? Leon, Zabini, or Malfoy?"

Hannah thought for a few seconds, her blonde brows knitting together as she thought. "Hmm. Maybe Leon."

"Ha!" Leon pointed a finger at her, his cheeks lifting as he grinned like a madman.

Amora rolled her eyes. "Zena?"

Zena winced. "Blaise. Sorry, Leon. He's just so... cool all the time. He's classy."

"Wha- I can be classy!" Leon seemed dumbstruck for a second. "Susan?"

The ginger-haired girl huffed in annoyance as she glanced up from her book. Amora looked expectantly over, genuinely curious to Susan's answer. Susan didn't talk too much about boys when they became the topic of conversation in the dorm-- she seemed to think they were a waste of time. Amora wished she thought like that sometimes, but when Amora was hooked on a boy, she was hooked on them. First, it had been Blaise for two or three years, and now it was his best friend.

"Maybe..." She blushed. "Maybe Malfoy?"

Justin roared with laughter from beside her, slamming his fist down on the table. "Susan and Draco sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n---"

He was cut off by Susan's hand smacking across his mouth immediately as she hissed at him to shut up. Amora chuckled quietly to herself, shaking her head. She never would have thought that Susan would have liked Draco out of the bunch, but she couldn't find herself to feel jealous about it at all. She knew Susan didn't have a crush.

"Okay, so that's what? One each. And Kathy obviously thinks me, so I win," Leon smiled smugly, "I'm the fittest boy in our year."

"No, Kathy's biased-- she doesn't count." Ernie rolled his eyes. "Also, how come it's just between the three of you? There are other fit boys, you know--"

"Like yourself?" Hannah snickered, patting his hand. "You're handsome, Ernie, but this is the top three we're talking about."

"That top three list is debatable," Kathy huffed, "I would swap Malfoy out for Dean Thomas."

Amora sat up straighter, immediately wanting to shut her friend down for it but keeping her lips shut. It seemed like their year group of Hufflepuffs were now all invested into the conversation, despite it starting out as a quarrel between Amora and Leon over how she should have gone to him for help on her Herbology essay.

"No, swap Leon for Harry," Justin joked, earning a glare from his friend, "It's the heroism. It's an attractive quality to have, you know?"

Leon rolled his eyes. "Doesn't matter. I win. Kathy and Hannah vote for me."

"Kathy's excluded," Ernie said again, "She's dating you, so it's not fair. Of course she wouldn't say if she actually thought Zabini or Malfoy were fitter."

"Okay, so Amora gets final say then," Kathy shrugged before she pecked Leon's jaw. "But just for the record, I don't think Malfoy or Zabini are fitter than you, Le."

Leon smiled down at her, snuggling his nose against her neck for a second before he looked back at his best friend, looking at her expectantly. Amora shrunk under his gaze and the eyeballs of the rest of her friends.

"C'mon, Amora, you have the winning point. All three are on one," Hannah said before she eyed the boys. "Unless the boys want to ditch their toxic masculinity and vote too."

Justin shrugged. "This is a rate of female attraction. I am no female."

Amora huffed and looked to her best friend. She knew the answer. His face was as clear as crystals in her brain, his platinum hair and silver eyes that twinkled like the moonlight. His pale skin that was cold to touch but warmed beneath her when she pressed her lips into his, his large hands gripping her waist and pulling her in to inhale his peppermint shampoo and expensive cologne. She shuddered as she pulled herself out of her daydream.

"Amora!" Kathy whined, "Answer."

"This game is stupid," she swallowed, "We shouldn't compare--"

Leon rolled his eyes. "Just admit I'm hot and move on."

"You are handsome, Leon, but..." Everybody hung on the edge of their seats, eyes wide-- they had been sure that Amora was going to pick her best friend.

Amora couldn't do it. She couldn't finish the sentence. It wasn't just in front of her best friends-- it was in front of Ernie and Justin who she was less close to, as well. Also anybody else who was possibly listening to them. Amora mentally apologised to the boy in her head.

"Joking-- you win."

"Ha!" Leon grinned, pressing a kiss to the side of Kathy's head. "I win. I'm the fittest boy in the year."

Amora grumbled as the bell rang for the first lesson, grabbing her stuff and leaving. "You're definitely something."

D.M + A.B

Herbology had gone by fine thanks to Blaise and as the day trailed on, Amora completed all of her classes and ate her dinner with her friends. Finally, she chose to read with a view of the outside. Part of having a dormitory in the dungeons meant that she didn't get to look outside whilst she read, which she missed greatly when she was at Hogwarts.

Amora glanced up from where she was curled on the concrete windowsill, peeling her brown eyes from her book and finding Draco standing in front of her. He glanced around them before he sat on the ledge on the other side of her, one of his legs curled under his body and the other dangling down. He leaned back against the wall, folding his arms across his chest and tilting his head as he silently stared.

She gave him a half smile, unable to continue reading with his burning gaze on her. Amora sensed that he wasn't here to lead her away to a broom closet and kiss the life out of her. Instead, he seemed content just sitting there with her.

"At home, my bedroom window is at the front of the house," she told him, looking away and out of the glass where she could see the courtyard and people strolling around below as it grew dark. "My dad built a huge windowsill-bench thing for me when I was younger, and it opens up and I can put my books inside it. I always sit there and watch the ocean whilst I read. Or crack the window open and listen to it crash against the rocks, or the seagulls swooping by. I miss that when I'm here."

Draco appeared to be listening to her intently, concentrating and hanging on every single word that left her lips. When she glanced back from the courtyard, she realised that he was still watching her, causing the corners of her lips to twitch up a little.

"But when I go back home, I miss it here. It scares me that this place is only temporary, you know? Because it feels like home," Amora continued, "But in three or so years, we'll leave and new witches and wizards will come, and I'll be Merlin knows where, doing Merlin knows what."

Draco chuckled quietly. "That's a bit deep for a Thursday afternoon," he murmured, "I was expecting you to tell me what you were reading or ask me what I want."

"Okay." Amora peeled the book off her lap and peered at the cover. "I'm reading a Muggle book called Frankenstein and what do you want?"

A grin crossed Draco's face. It was a real grin-- teeth and all. The apples of cheeks rose as he shook his head at her, amused. Amora wished she could capture the expression on his face in a photograph. It definitely wasn't everyday that Draco smiled like that. She knew he didn't smile just for anyone and it made her heart swell.

"Just wanted to... see you, I suppose," Draco muttered, scratching the back of his neck as his smile faded. "It was strange having you at the Slytherin table this morning."

Amora cocked her head to the side. "Good strange or bad strange?"

"Good strange," he drawled, leaning forward and tracing his fingers down the golden lining of her school robes. "I wish you had been put in Slytherin, hmm? Green would suit you. And you could sit beside me every morning. You certainly managed to put Pansy in her place."

"I don't mind Pansy," Amora admitted.

Draco quirked a brow. "She's a bitch. To you, as well."

"I don't know, I have to admire some of the remarks she comes out with," Amora giggled, "Some of it's funny-- like what she said about my dress at the Yule Ball."

"You thought that was funny?" Draco's eyes bulged slightly as she nodded. "You're a weirdo, Buckley."

"She's... badass," Amora shrugged, her smile shying off of her face. "Really cool. She just speaks her mind and doesn't care what people think. I admire that about her."

Draco seemed deep in thought for a few seconds. "You... want to be like her?" He frowned, forehead wrinkling and a nearly-disgusted expression on his face. "I like you the way you are."

The brunette blushed at his words but shook her head. "I'm happy being me," she chuckled, "But... I must admit, I lie to please people a lot. That's what I like about your house, not just Pansy. You think of yourselves first, and that's not always a bad thing. Sometimes it feels like you're doing everything for somebody else. It becomes tiring, you know?"

The Malfoy boy scoffed. "Trust me, I understand."

Amora could tell he was thinking about something. She wondered what until she thought maybe it could be his parents. He was the leader of his friends so it couldn't be them. She felt sorry for him.

"People say Hufflepuffs are weak because they're kind, but I don't think those people realise how strong you have to be to be kind all of the time," Amora hummed, absentmindedly trailing her fingers up and down the spine of her book as she watched Draco frown, looking out the window, deep in thought. "You know, I think that might be why I always bit back when you started arguments with me. It was almost liberating to not be so reserved and kind for once."

"I never thought of it like that," Draco murmured, casting his eyes back to her.

Amora shrugged. "Not a big deal. Just some food for thought."

"You know, Buckley, I do believe this is the first proper conversation we've ever had." Draco raised his brows. "Not a bad one, either. Good to know you're not an airhead like Crabbe or Goyle. If brains were gold, those two would be poorer than a Weasley."

The brunette sighed. She immediately wanted to bite Draco's head off, to lift herself from the ledge they were sitting on and storm back to her dormitory, but she pursed her lips and sent him a look. Draco read into it immediately and averted his eyes back to the scenery outside.

"It was a joke," he muttered.

"Where the Weasleys are poor in Galleons, they make up for it with love and laughter," Amora told him sincerely, thinking about the family that she admired with all of her heart. "Your idea of a joke... it baffles me."

Draco rolled his silver eyes. "You're being soft."

That shoved Amora over the edge. Merlin, he was so stupid and infuriating.

"I'm being loyal to my friends," Amora scowled, sitting up and grabbing her book. "I will never sit back and allow anybody to mock those I care about. You know what, Draco? I thought we were doing really well. You just had to go and ruin it, didn't you?"

His stormy eyes watched her climb from her seat, but before she could move away, his large hand moved out to wrap around her wrist and tug her back. Amora's eyes widened and she attempted to wriggle out of his grip.

"I can apologise," Draco said, searching her face for any sign of softening-- he caught it in her eyes. "But... you can't expect me to just... be a different person."

Amora swallowed, feeling stupid as she finally grasped her hand out of his. "I don't expect you to suddenly become the next Neville bloody Longbottom, but I expected... Merlin, I don't know what I was expecting! You're Draco Malfoy, of course you're going to be an arse!"

She started to storm down the corridor, attempting to ignore the footsteps coming after her. Before she could get away, Draco had her pinned to the wall, his minty breath fanning her face as he took her in. Amora placed her hands on his chest and tried to shove him off, but he grabbed her hands, pinning them above her head.

Amora couldn't believe how quickly they'd gone from talking about her bedroom back home to this; her body pressed against a wall like she was the prey and he was her predator.

"You're absolutely right, Amora," Draco sneered, "I am Draco Malfoy. You must have known exactly who I was when you had your hands in my hair and my tongue down your fucking throat."

Her eyes widened, her breath hitching.

"You're not as sweet and pure as people think, are you, Amora?" Draco growled, "Because otherwise, you wouldn't be with me-- betraying your friends. For a Hufflepuff, you're not so loyal, hm? You know exactly who I am. What I think and where my priorities lie. Yet you're still here."

Amora's heart was pounding in her chest and as his fingers started to slide towards her jaw, just like he always did before he kissed her, Amora grabbed his wrist with a crushing grip and grabbed her wand out of the pocket of her robe. Draco looked surprised when she pressed it against his neck, just like she had done at the start of the year. Yet he didn't seem scared. That infuriated Amora more-- he shouldn't underestimate her.

"You say I know exactly who you are, but I don't think even you know who you are, Draco Malfoy," Amora hissed, clearly catching him off guard. "If you have all of these priorities and thoughts, then why are you here as well? It swings both ways, Malfoy. I may be a Pure-blood, but you know who I am, too. I'm a Hufflepuff, a blood traitor-- my parents were part of the Order, yours were with Him. But you're still here, just like I bloody am."

Draco watched the tears start to stream down her cheeks, his face falling from the stony expression it had previously held. It was a gut-wrenching feeling to watch her cry in front of him, her not even acknowledging the salty tears as she spat what she was truly thinking to him. Everything he had said had been true, but she had also been just as right as he was.

"How can we even like each other when we're so different?" Amora continued, "You must hate everything about me!"

"You must hate everything about me too, then," Draco grumbled, avoiding her question as her wand lowered.

"I don't-- I can't anymore," Amora admitted, "'Cause when I look at you, I don't see the cold front you try to put on. I see the boy who gave me the jumper off his back and danced with me. I want to know the real you. I want you to let me in."

"This is the real me," Draco scolded, dropping the expression of awe that he had been wearing whilst she spoke. "You are talking to the real me."

"I don't believe that for a second," Amora whispered, wiping her tears off of her cheeks. "Because I look at you right now and I see the way you look at me whilst I cry. You don't like it, do you?"

"Of course I don't," Draco swallowed, scrunching his face up.

"Then I don't believe for a second that you're as cold and cruel as you try to be," Amora said, watching the way his shoulders sagged and how his crestfallen face stared at her. "I do believe that you think it's who you are, but I know you can do better, Draco."

"I don't need lessons," he growled, lip curling. "I don't need you to work on me like some sort of project."

"Relationships are about bringing out the best in the other person--"

"The last time I checked, you and I weren't in a relationship," Draco finally snapped, and he could tell that he had taken it too far when he saw the expression that immediately crossed Amora's face. "It's a good thing too— you're right. We are too different for one another."

Whilst his words were true, it didn't make it hurt any less for the brunette. She tore her gaze from him, fearing that she would cry harder if he kept looking at her like that-- like she meant nothing to him. Her heart was pounding and she knew that she had to get out of here, away from Draco, as quickly as possible.

"You're completely right, Malfoy," Amora swallowed, "we're not together. It's a good thing too, because we are very clearly toxic for one another. We can't have a basic conversation without exploding."

"Perhaps if you weren't such a fucking crybaby--"

"Just shut the fuck up, oh my God." Amora cut him off before he could rub any more salt in the wound, shoving him by the chest so that he stumbled backwards and she could finally escape.

Amora stormed down the corridor, wiping the tears off of her cheeks as quickly as they came. Small sobs echoed past her lips. She wished she wasn't so infatuated by Draco. She didn't understand why it hurt her so badly that they would never work out. Perhaps they were supposed to stay enemies rather than lovers.

Her eyes landed on a girl leaning with her arms folded against her chest a few feet ahead. Amora blinked the remaining tears in her eyes out of her vision, the blurriness evaporating and revealing Pansy Parkinson. The ebony-haired girl in the Slytherin robes stood watching her, not looking particularly sympathetic nor pissed off.

Amora laughed bitterly through her tears. "I suppose you're going to tell my friends what you just heard?"

Pansy rolled her eyes. "I'd rather die than go within a three-foot radius of Harry Potter."

Whilst the brunette did feel rather defensive of her friend, she took Pansy's crude remark as an oath to silence. She tried to send a small smile but felt more tears overflow. Pansy sighed and grabbed Amora's arm, tugging her into the girls' bathroom one door down. She grabbed tissues and handed them to her.

"Malfoy is not worth getting yourself this worked up over," Pansy insisted impatiently, watching as Amora wiped her tears away. "He's a dick. What you just heard-- that's Malfoy being his normal dick-ish self. Trust me. You're too... Merlin, I cannot believe I am saying this... but Buckley, you're too good for him."

Amora felt uncomfortable discussing what she had had with Draco with Pansy, yet for some reason, it still felt sort of relieving for somebody else to know. She never thought it would be Pansy Parkinson, but here she was, accepting her advice in the girls' bathroom. If Amora knew this would be happening a year ago-- that Pansy Parkinson would be comforting her because she liked Draco Malfoy-- then Amora would have laughed. So much had changed in such little time.

"Did you hear everything?" Amora questioned, her eyes drying as she tossed the tissue into the nearest bin.

Pansy shrugged. "Pretty much. I'd had my suspicions about the two of you for a while now, but when I saw you sat together at the window, I just had to listen for it to be confirmed. And I heard what you said about me. It was... nice to hear."

Amora wasn't sure what to feel. She didn't reply to Pansy's last statement, not caring if Pansy had heard her compliment her. It was the least of her worries right now.

"I will tell you this, though, Buckley," Pansy said, "he cares about you. In his own fucked-up way, Malfoy cares about you. More than anybody else in this stupid school, anyway. The way he looked at you before you fought said it all. That, and I keep catching him staring at you. And he's actually been decent to be around recently."

Amora's heart swelled, her head conflicted as she turned to glance in the mirror. Her brown eyes were rimmed red and she sighed, shaking her head.

"It's too hard," Amora whispered, "Too much work."

"Is he worth it?" Pansy asked.

"I don't know, Pansy. I don't know."


	26. Chapter 26

Amora clenched her eyes shut from where she was lying on the couch in the Hufflepuff Common Room, a pillow clutched to her stomach and small winces crossing her delicate features every now and then. It was unusually quiet inside the yellow house's hangout, but all Amora wanted to listen to anyway was the crackling of the fire nearby. It made her feel warm, heating up her body.

"Ill again?" Cedric's voice questioned from above.

Amora peeked her eyes open, a soft frown on her face. "No. Period cramps," she muttered, watching her older cousin immediately grow flustered.

He moved to sit beside her and pulled out his wand from his cloak, waving it over the pillow that Amora was holding. The golden material suddenly grew warm beneath her fingertips and she smiled gratefully, pressing it closer to her abdomen which continued to ache with sharp, piercing stabs. It felt like she could be sick any moment, her body weak.

"Better?" Cedric questioned softly.

"Mhm," Amora murmured, sitting up slightly and shifting to lean her head against his shoulder instead. "Thanks, Cedric."

"Of course."

There's a few moments of silence between them before Cedric lifts his arm and wraps it around Amora, pulling her even closer. He could tell that something had been off with her all weekend, ever since Thursday night when she came storming through the Common Room and refused to look at him as she marched straight to her bedroom. However, Cedric didn't want to push it out of her-- he knew how snappy she could get when people tried to make her confess to things she wasn't ready to talk about.

Despite their playful relationship, like any pair of cousins, they had had their ups and downs. Normally, it was Amora being angry with Cedric for whatever reason, he rarely ever grew angry with her. She never did anything to annoy him really, it was always him that would start things that he may have accidentally taken too far sometimes.

"Are you all right, other than the... menstrual stuff?" Cedric asked awkwardly.

Amora released a small breath through her nose, the corners of her lips twitching up slightly. "I'm..." She thought for a moment, wondering if getting it off of her chest would help. "I'm fine, Cedric."

Even if she and Draco had now officially finished whatever it was they had had, it wouldn't stop how angry her cousin and friends would be if they ever found out it had happened in the first place. Especially considering she was still so hung up on him. Even when he had said all that awful stuff to her that Thursday night.

By Monday morning, tomorrow, Amora planned on being as good as new. She'd wake early, take a shower and do her hair nicely, rid every crease from her school robe, and head down to the Great Hall to show Draco exactly how much she didn't miss him. Even if it was the fattest facade ever.

"Are you sure?" Cedric attempted to pry out of her. "You know you can talk to me about anything, right? I know that I've even rather mixed up with the Triwizard Tournament and whatnot... but I'm always here if you need me."

Amora felt her heart swell slightly as she grabbed her cousin's hand in front of them and gave it a soft squeeze.

"Thanks," she whispered.

"Sooo... Are you going to tell me what's swirling around that big brain of yours?" Cedric prodded her arm teasingly. "Or will I have to wait until I hear it from Leon first?"

Amora gave a sort of half-smile. "Invested in the fourth year drama, hmm, Cedric?"

"Fourth year is the year to be. It's the last year before O.W.L.s, then sixth year is just revising for N.E.W.T.s..." Cedric droned on. "Trust me, take advantage of how stress-free your life is right now."

Amora could have scoffed at his words. Her life certainly didn't feel stress-free.

"Now spill," Cedric muttered, "Before dinner's ready and I leave you here to go stuff my face."

The brunette sighed, seriously contemplating telling him. She trusted Cedric, she really did. She believed that he would listen to her before making any judgements. Her heart was pounding roughly against her rib cage, her skin on fire as she took a deep breath.

"I like someone," Amora blurted, taken by surprise to hear her own voice out loud.

Cedric smirked. "Ah, so that's what it's?" He hummed, "Amora has her first real crush, aye?"

Draco wasn't her first real crush, but he was definitely... something. Whatever she felt for him was definitely bigger than what she had felt for Blaise. Although that was a given considering the fact that she'd never really spoken to the Zabini boy before this year.

"Cedric," she whispered a small warning, telling him she was being deadly serious.

The brunet frowned, his square jaw shifting as he glanced down at his cousin, seemingly confused and concerned now. They never really spoke about serious topics with one another, not any serious topics regarding their feelings anyway.

"Okay, you like someone," Cedric repeated with a small nod. "How is that a problem? Do they not like you back?"

Amora chewed her lip. "I think he does. He gives all these mixed signals. He's not... good at expressing emotion, and he seems to get angry whenever he feels vulnerable, I suppose. He's not ready to admit much yet and... I don't know. I feel like he's no good for me."

"He sounds no good for you," Cedric huffed, making her heart sink a little.

Perhaps all she would have needed was for someone to tell her that she was in her own head about the entire situation and she would force it all behind her and go to Draco and ask how they could fix their shitty excuse of a... well, not even relationship, in Draco's opinion. She knew deep down Cedric was right and she was sort of glad he said it. It kept her anchored down to the couch.

"I just feel like I'm too far gone," Amora murmured, fiddling with her fingers on top of her lap. "I can't stop thinking about him."

"Who is he?" Cedric asked the dreaded question.

"I can't tell you," the brunette replied.

"Why not?" Cedric demanded, frowning protectively. "Is he an older boy? It's not that creep Montague, is it? I thought I kicked his arse hard enough to make sure he didn't try—"

"Cedric!" Amora whined, embarrassed. "You didn't."

"What?" Cedric exclaimed defensively. "He shouldn't be asking fourth-year girls to the Yule Ball and getting pissed when they say no. A couple of Slytherins told me he said some... less than polite things about you in the Common Room. I just set him straight."

Amora wondered how she hadn't heard a glimpse of Montague getting beaten up, but then again, the Slytherin was most likely too proud to let anyone know that it had actually happened. Either way, Cedric's tactic had clearly proven itself efficient. He hadn't so much as glanced at her since, not that Amora had even thought about him once.

"Now why can't you tell me?"

"Because even my friends don't know," Amora lowered her voice. "Not Leon, Kathy, Hermione. You'll all judge me."

"Oh Merlin," Cedric's face scrunched up. "He's not that ugly, is he?"

Amora couldn't even bring herself to chuckle at Cedric's joke. The entire situation was raining down on her, and between the immense cramps in her stomach and this, a joke wasn't exactly what she felt like was in order.

Cedric noticed and sighed. "Look, does this guy make you happy, Amora?"

She thought for a second. "Sometimes."

"Sometimes isn't good enough," Cedric answered finally, no longer joking around. "I don't know who he is, but if he's not making you happy a majority of the time, then he's not good enough for you. He's only going to drag you down, Amora."

The brunette sighed, clutching her magically-heated pillow closer to her abdomen as a particularly harsh wave of pain crashed into her. She peeled her head from Cedric's shoulder and glared at the fireplace in front of her. 

Cedric's words were not what she wanted to hear. However, maybe they were what she needed to hear. 

D.M + A.B

Amora stayed true to her word and turned up to the Great Hall the next morning looking the best she could. She was freshly showered, not a hair out of place and not a single piece of acne for show on her face, everything covered delicately by her sheer tinted moisturiser. To put it lightly, Amora felt like she was glowing. 

Her dark eyes never lifted from the Hufflepuff table to wander over to the house of snakes, but rather she stayed focused on her friends and her honey-infested porridge, laughing along with Justin's story. She was glad her housemates were able to unknowingly distract her.

Deep down, she hoped he was watching her. She hoped Draco saw how little his words had played a toll on her— even if it was all she could think about all weekend. But Amora refused to feel or be embarrassed by Draco, and she wouldn't let him feel superior to her. She was taking back her dignity without a shred of sympathy.

Pansy would probably be proud.

She hadn't spoken to the ebony-haired Slytherin since that Thursday night, but that was because Amora had barely left her dormitory or, at the most, her Common Room. Luckily, she'd been able to blame her cramps, and so her ever-so-thoughtful roommates had been taking her some lunch and dinner.

Amora wouldn't call Pansy a friend just yet, but she definitely couldn't bring herself to dislike Pansy either. She was pretty sure the other girl felt the same.

Breakfast passed rather quickly and Amora was chucked into her first lesson of the day— Divination with Trelawney. Whilst Hermione had hated it so much that she had dropped the lesson, Amora was quite entranced by it all, even if some of it she was sceptical of.

She sat at her pouffe with Leon, Ron, and Harry, the four of them scribbling over the exact placement of the stars on the nights that they were born on. Overall, Trelawney's lessons were quite relaxing whenever she wasn't predicting Harry's death or glaring at Ron for rude remarks.

Amora sat silently sketching out the stars from her night of birth, listening to Lavender Brown distract Professor Trelawney at the front of the room, asking question after question. The scent in the room was thick and it was quite dim, making Amora feel sleepy.

"This lesson's so boring even 'Mora's about to doze off," Ron huffed, "Look at her."

Amora said nothing but smiled sheepishly as she caught her eyes from shutting. She took her cheek off her chin and her elbow off of the table, rolling her wrist.

"Bad night sleep, Amora?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, kind of," Amora muttered, "You wouldn't wanna hear about it."

All three boys frowned in confusion and Harry puffed his chest slightly, sitting up straighter as if he was trying to step up and prove a point to the sleepy brunette girl.

"Of course we want to hear," Harry said sincerely.

Amora raised a sceptical brow before she smirked. "In that case, I've been having the worst period pains of my life, even Madam Pomfrey's potions barely help—"

Ron looked horrified. "What the hell, Amora?"

"You asked," she chuckled.

"Well at least it's over now," Leon offered her a small smile.

Amora's face scrunched up. "Pardon?"

"Your... you know, period," Leon muttered, lowering his voice. "At least it's over. Don't have to wait until next month now."

The brown-eyed girl stared at him for a few seconds. "Leon, tell me how long periods last?"

"Once a month," he said smugly.

Ron nodded in agreement. "Yeah."

Amora nearly lost faith in all teenage boys right there and then. She could perhaps forgive Harry and Leon who didn't have sisters nor mothers at home, but Ron baffled her-- he had both!

"Ron, you have a sister, for goodness sake!" Amora huffed, "periods last once a month for an entire week. Not one day a month."

"What?" Leon and Ron both blurted whilst Harry looked horrified.

She chuckled at them all. "The education system has failed you, boys."

"Whatever," Ron grumbled, grabbing his quill and getting back to work. "This is a bloody Divination lesson, not a female body lesson."

Amora shook her head in amusement, a small smile gracing her features. Upon feeling a tickling on the side of her face, the brunette turned her head to the side, meeting a pair of silver eyes automatically. She nearly winced as Draco stared her down, nearly whirled back to face her friends immediately, but if Amora was going to establish this new confidence she apparently had, she was going to stare right back.

Draco was sat with Blaise, Pansy, and Theo, the other three doing their work. Perhaps their laughter had caught Draco's attention, but he refused to back down his gaze, his lip slightly curled as he stared. Amora furrowed her brows to give him a short glare, but before their staring contest got ridiculous, she rolled her eyes at him and turned back.

"What was that?" Harry raised his brows. "Is Malfoy bothering you?"

"Yes," Amora snapped, huffing as she gripped her quill angrily. "He's just being his usual-dickish self. Nothing new."

Harry frowned, concerned. "I'm sorry, Amora. I can talk to him if you'd like?"

I'm sorry, Amora. Harry definitely still believed that Draco only acknowledged her existence because she was associated with him. He blamed himself for Draco irritating Amora when in reality, this had nothing to do with Harry Potter for once. Amora didn't grow irritated at his insinuation this time.

"No, don't waste your breath on him, Harry," Amora said softly, "Malfoy's just pathetic."

It surprised her how bitter the words tasted in her mouth-- like she was still lying a little bit. It frustrated her to no end. It had only been a few days, but Amora was ready to go back to hating him again now. Her heart didn't want to seem to allow her to.

Walking through the corridors to her next lesson, Amora was lost in her own thoughts. For once this weekend, not because of Draco, but because of all of the homework she was starting to get set in preparation for O.W.Ls next year. Amora didn't think she wanted to carry on with Divination at N.E.W.T level anyway, so that class would probably be the one she sacrificed revision time for in order to do better in others.

"You did well." Pansy held a smirk on her pale face as she appeared beside Amora, the two of them walking down the corridor filled to the brim with students together. "Malfoy heard everything you said. He's pissed about it. Especially since you said it to Potter of all people! Quite genius, actually, Buckley."

Amora frowned a little. She didn't actually plan for Draco to hear what she had to say about him. 

"What did he say?" Amora questioned, slightly concerned.

"He started to snap about how useless the class was, and how Potter was going to lose the next task," Pansy huffed, "All typical Malfoy things to go on about. Only he was gripping his quill so hard whilst you spoke to Harry, you'd have to be an idiot not to recognise that he was jealous. Of course, Zabini and Nott are idiots, so they didn't."

Amora was genuinely surprised that Pansy was trying to help her. She grew worried that there was a different motive behind Pansy's seemingly kind actions, a frown taking place on her face.

"What now?" Pansy rolled her eyes when she saw the look on the brunette's face. "You don't feel bad, do you? Come on, he deserves it after what I heard him say to you."

"No, I don't...." Amora admitted.

"Atta girl," Pansy grinned, teeth and all as she patted Amora's back. "So what is it?"

"I..." Amora blushed a little. "Don't take this the wrong way, Pansy, but why are you helping me? I always thought that you had a... you know, crush on Draco."

Pansy grimaced. "No. My parents want us together since he's a Pure-blood and a Malfoy, of course, but I don't really like people that are like Malfoy if you know what I mean."

Amora frowned in confusion. "You don't like Slytherins?"

"No, stupid," Pansy scowled, "I don't like things with dicks."

"Things with..." Amora's eyes widened when she realised, a rosy tint coating her cheeks as she turned to Pansy. "Oh! Oh, I'm sorry for just assuming, Pansy."

"It's whatever," Pansy huffed, "Lots of people think it."

Something settled inside the shorter girl's heart. Hearing Pansy's confession felt strange. She never thought she would be on this sort of basis with the Parkinson girl to hear things that Amora assumed not many people knew about. Also, Pansy knew Amora's biggest secret too. She felt more comfortable now as she walked alongside the girl, feeling like Pansy's help was actually genuine.

"Thanks, Pansy," Amora said softly as they neared her next classroom. "You're.. Not what I expected at all."

"'Cause I fancy girls?" Pansy grimaced.

"No, you're just... I don't know, you're nice to me."

"Yeah, yeah, don't drone on about it, Hufflepuff. I could still tell the whole school about your rendezvous with Malfoy," the Slytherin replied bitterly.

Something told Amora that Pansy wouldn't though. Her lips quirked up into a small smile, much to Pansy's dismay since she had meant to appear threatening, and Amora gave her a small salute before leaving into her Charms class.


	27. Chapter 27

"Draco?"

The white-haired boy's silver eyes slowly flickered open and began to search around his bedroom for the source of the sound. It was pitch black, not a single shadowy figure in sight, just the pale moon's beams that shone through the ceiling-high window and reflected onto the dark floorboards. His room was huge, perhaps bigger than the dormitory he shared with the rest of the fourth year Slytherin boys at Hogwarts, and it made him feel all that much lonelier.

He was awake now. He had no idea how the 'voice' had woken him from his slumber when it had sounded so quiet and far away. Almost like a ghost wandering the corridors of the manor. Draco visibly shivered and pulled his duvet further up his body, nearly all the way to his neck, only his pale face and broad shoulders visible as he moved to stare up at the ceiling of his oak canopy bed.

It was bigger than a double, far larger and comfier than his bed back at Hogwarts. Yet he'd rather be there, no matter how much he insisted that he hated the school.

"D-Draco?"

There was that voice again. Draco knew that it definitely wasn't in his head anymore. It was a soft, feminine voice and it was shaking slightly, filling the Malfoy boy with dread. At first, he had no idea who it could be-- it certainly wasn't his mother whose voice was deeper and stronger. Then it dawned on him.

The girl sounded exactly like Amora Buckley. He was sure it couldn't be her. What the hell would she be doing in his family's home, uninvited and wandering the halls in the dead of the night? Nevertheless, despite his confusion, Draco shifted out of his bed and grabbed his wand, cold feet hitting the colder floor below him. He didn't even grab a shirt as he stood.

"Lumos," he whispered, the end of his wand lighting up like a torch and allowing him to see in front of him a little.

He dared to push open the door, head and wanding peeking out first into the hallway. When he was sure that it was empty, Draco left through it, a frown on his face. He was extremely confused and a little frightened. Especially once he had padded down the staircase and was met with a figure curled into a ball by the door.

"Amora?" Draco whispered fearfully, heart pounding out of his chest.

She glanced up from her arms, teary brown eyes taking him in. Draco gulped at her bruised face, a strange pain filling his gut that he had never experienced before. He moved closer, dropping to his knees in front of her and holding her arm. She winced away from him.

"Amora?" Draco repeated, "Amora, why are you here?"

She glanced up at him, sniffling. "You wanted me to be here," Amora glared slightly. "You asked me to come here."

Draco had no recognition of it. He tried to reach out of her hand again, but she tugged it away.

"What- What happened to your face?" He asked quietly.

"Like you don't know," the brunette began to cry again. "You told me that they would like me, Draco. You said it was okay for us to be together."

"What--"

"Draco," the booming voice of his father cut him off and Draco visibly jumped, turning to see his father walking down the stairs, cane in his hand as Narcissa followed close behind, a disgusted expression written across her pale face. "Step away from it."

"It?" Draco repeated, horrified as he stood up. "Father, she is--"

"We know exactly who that wretched girl is, Draco," Narcissa gasped, her eyes filling with tears as she placed a hand on Lucius' shoulder. "And we cannot believe that you would bring such... such scum into our home!"

"How could you, Draco?" Lucius spat, grabbing Draco by the arm and yanking him forward painfully. "How could you bring a Blood-traitor to us and tell us she is the one you love!"

Draco's panicked eyes darted frantically between Amora weeping softly behind him and his mother and father. He felt the dire need to protect Amora and go against everything he had ever been taught in order to do so. He found himself shoving Lucius off of him, making Narcissa gasp loudly, appalled.

"Father, so what if Amora has Muggle-born friends?" Draco swallowed, "she is still Pure-blood--"

"What about that disgusting mother of hers, Draco?" Narcissa wept.

"Professor Buckley is not the same thing as Amora," Draco glared a little, each sniffle behind him from the brunette girl fueling his anger further. "Just like I am not the same as you two."

"What are you doing?" Lucius yelled as Draco moved to grab Amora, helping her to her feet. "Draco, you are above that girl! You are worthy of so much better--"

"No father, it is Amora that is worthy of so much better," Draco hissed, "And I intend on trying my best for her."

His father raised his cane and—

Draco lurched awake.

His silver eyes cast upon the Slytherin boys' dormitory, his heart pounding as he recalled his dream. Draco didn't dream that much, and when he did, they were never so coherent and he never paid them much attention. However, he knew it had to mean something. His hands shook as he gripped his covers, listening to the snores of the boys around him.

He started to wonder if he really would betray his parents for Amora. If he really did think that Amora being a Blood-traitor wasn't a big deal, and if her family really didn't matter to him. And if that was the case, did it apply to everybody or just the brunette who he had found himself thinking about nonstop since last week when he had upset her?

That must be it. He must have dreamt about her simply because she had been on his mind a lot lately. However, that didn't explain the story of his dream. He couldn't help thinking that his brain was trying to subconsciously tell him something.

Draco groaned, leaning back onto his pillow. He's said what he did to her that Thursday evening in order to protect himself. It had all gotten far too real far too quickly for him. He was fine when they were just talking about her home on the seaside or her book, but as soon as she started to figure him out, Draco panicked and spat out everything he could possibly think of to get her to leave him alone. He didn't need nor want for Amora to tell him who he was and try and disprove everything he had ever believed in. He was comfortable where he was, and as far as he was concerned, his father told him that that was on top. 

But this dream... it left him with a dry mouth and a brain filled with thoughts, even as he trailed to breakfast or his Charms class later, and lunch, and everywhere else. He couldn't get it out of his head, which was stupid to him, because it was just a bloody dream, and dreams meant nothing.

"You alright, Malfoy?" Blaise asked as they settled down for bed that night.

Draco glanced up from where he realised it was taking him over five minutes to do up the buttons of his silk pyjama shirt. He'd gotten distracted again, thinking about the way that his parents had spoken about Amora in his dream, and how sick that had made him.

"Do you think..." Draco began, hesitantly. "Pure-bloods who are friends with Muggle-borns... that's not, like, too bad, is it? Really? Bad... but like there could be exceptions? For some people?"

Blaise raised an eyebrow. "You mean Blood-traitors?"

Merlin, there was that phrase that had been on Draco's mind all day. Suddenly he hated the word. Why couldn't Amora have just been born into a family like his own? Draco knew he didn't really mean that thought though, because then Amora wouldn't be who she was. She wouldn't be the Amora that he liked.

"Why, Malfoy?" Theo teased from the bathroom, leaving with his toothbrush hanging out his mouth. "You have some sort of new Mudblood friend?"

Draco's face screwed up at the accusation. "No! Not me. I was thinking. Zabini, say your future wife was a Pure-blood..."

"Of course," Blaise nodded along.

"What would you do if you found out that she had Muggle-born friends?" Draco questioned, genuinely curious-- maybe his friend's reply would shove him in the right direction of what the hell to do with the dream that had been playing on his mind for hours.

Blaise thought for a moment. "Depends."

"On what?" Draco asked, quirking his eyebrows in interest.

"If she's fit or not," Blaise grinned, earning a laugh from Theo and a high five from Goyle.

"I was being serious," Draco huffed. "You lot are ridiculously slow sometimes. I'm sure I lose brain cells simply walking into this dormitory sometimes."

Blaise rolled his latte eyes in amusement. "Okay. Honestly? I don't know. Everything depends, doesn't it? I know mother wouldn't be pleased at all, but perhaps if she only had a couple of Muggle-born friends. I would never tell mother she was a Blood-traitor, of course."

Draco frowned a little as he considered Blaise's words. It was too late for him to tell his parents that Amora was the perfect Pure-blood, considering the rivalry his father seemed to have with her mother. Merlin, Amora's mother was the bloody Muggle Studies professor! The only way it could be worse was if Amora had grown up in Muggle England or something.

But maybe Blaise was right. Maybe it didn't matter so long as she only had a couple of Muggle-born friends. All her friends seemed to be Half-bloods and Pure-bloods anyway, minus Hermione Granger, of course. So... So maybe Draco could figure something out.

As he lay in bed that night, tossing and turning to the sound of Crabbe's awful snores, Draco couldn't help but reconsider a lot of his previous ideas about what being a Blood-traitor truly meant. He began to grow angry at his parents, thinking maybe Amora was right and it didn't matter if she associated with people who had less than a hundred percent of magic running through their veins.

Then he remembered everything his father had ever taught him; about how if there weren't standards for even Pure-bloods, then the Malfoys wouldn't be considered so great.

So he started to get angry at Amora and Professor and Mr Buckley. He hated Amora's mother for taking an interest in those pathetic Muggles, passing on her ideas to Amora who didn't know any better.

Yes, it was Amora who didn't know any better.

Perhaps Draco could teach her the proper way, just like how his father had taught him.

Yet, the thought of Amora being different didn't settle well with Draco. He liked the challenge that came with being around her, the way that she could be so soft and sweet yet try and put him in his place, standing up for herself adamantly. He didn't want Amora to change, he just wanted to accept her.

Maybe Draco had some work to do on himself first. 

D.M + A.B

Drifting through the corridors that Saturday morning, Amora realised that it had been about ten days since her fight with Draco and six days since they'd had their little staring contest in Professor Trelawney's class. Slowly, she was starting to feel more like herself again, not that any of her friends had really picked up on her slightly depressive state. Rather, she kept it to herself, the frown on her face only occurring when she was under the hot streams of the shower or tucked away in her bed, listening to the soft snores of her friends.

Amora was feeling pretty accomplished. She knew that she had done nothing wrong but defend her friends, and so she wouldn't feel guilty over how things had ended with Draco. Things were probably going to go back to normal by the end of the year. They rarely talked before, but when they did, it was just teasing comments and harsh glares. Maybe the comments would be more personal now that they seemingly had a genuine grudge against the other.

Her thoughts were cut off when she heard howling laugher suddenly come from the side of her. Amora's gaze flickered over to a group of third year Slytherin boys, all of which were smirking at her. The one on the middle shot Amora a wink, a shiver of disgust tingling down her spine as she frowned.

"What's funny?" Amora asked, glancing down at her shoes to be sure she didn't have anything stuck to them or something else equally as embarrassing.

"Nothing funny 'bout you, Buckley," the middle one, clearly the cockiest, grinned, "Just wondering what it would take to get someone as fit as you to come back to our dorms, eh?"

Amora's face contorted into an expression of pure disgust. "Excuse me?" The brunette was appalled. "You guys are, like, thirteen! How... disgusting!"

She swiftly turned on her heel and began to head towards the Great Hall for breakfast when she felt a swift smack delivered to her ass, causing her to freeze in horror. She turned, about to grab her wand out and hex the giggling boys when she saw Professor Snape turn into the corridor. Amora hid her wand back into her pocket and glared at them threateningly instead.

"Do that again and it will be the last thing you little twats ever fucking do," Amora hissed, watching them jump back in clear surprise at the Hufflepuff's words.

Amora marched to the Great Hall, a bitter look on her face as she folded her arms across her chest, wishing she could shrink away from anybody that even glanced at her for a second. She was sort of glad that Snape had turned around the corner, otherwise she would probably be facing a lot of detentions for hexing those third years into next week.

"Hey, guys," Amora smiled slightly upon noticing Kathy sat with the Golden Trio at the Gryffindor table.

Ever since Leon and Kathy had started dating, she'd been hanging around them a lot more often, whereas, last year, Kathy had never uttered a word to any of them aside from Amora, of course, and Hermione. She sat beside her fellow Hufflepuff and attempted to forget about what had just happened in the hallway as she grabbed her daily dose or porridge and a bottle of honey.

"No wonder you're so sweet all the time," Ron huffed, watching the amount she put in. "Can you even taste the porridge over that?"

"Yes, I can," Amora exaggerated a smile at him. "And thank you, Ron."

"Malfoy's such a prick!" Leon snapped as he dropped down in between Kathy and Amora, a furious glare written across his features.

Amora's heart skipped a beat at the mention of Draco's name. "What?"

"Tell us something we don't know, Leon," Harry retorted, earning a nod of agreement from Ron. "What did he do this time?"

"I saw the bastard hexing a group of third years in the hallway." Leon rolled his eyes, missing the way that Amora's eyes widened slightly.

He'd... what?

Harry moved to stand, ready to go and help the 'innocent' third years, but the Hufflepuff boy shook his head. "Don't bother, Harry. Snape saw. Dragged him away."

"Well, that means he won't get punished, doesn't it?" Hermione huffed, brushing her curls out of her face. "I feel so sorry for what you probably had to put up with, Amora!"

Amora's heart skipped a beat. "What?" She blurted.

She knows. Oh Merlin, Hermione knows. What is she doing? Why is she saying--

"When you got locked in that library with him overnight," Hermione reminded her.

Thankfully, nobody seemed to notice how panicked the brunette had become, her face softening as she relaxed, realising that she hadn't been caught. Her heart was still pounding with adrenaline as she scooped porridge into her mouth, willing herself to calm down.

Ron shoved some bacon past his lips. "I would want to forget if I had to spend the night locked in a room with Malfoy, too."

"How does that even happen?" Harry said, seemingly in a state of annoyance as he stabbed at his cereal with his spoon. "I'm surprised Malfoy didn't go blabbing to his father about it to get Dumbledore fired."

"Shh." Amora sent him a look as his voice rose. "He didn't tell anyone because he didn't want people to know that we had been locked somewhere overnight together. So you guys better keep it down. If it gets back to Malfoy, he'll be furious with me for sure."

"You called him Malfoy, Amora," Kathy acknowledged. "You rarely call people by their last names. Even Malfoy."

"Yeah, well, you guys are right, he's an arse," the brown-eyed girl grumbled.

"You told me you felt sorry for him at the start of the year," Harry recalled, earning weirded-out looks from her friends as she rolled her eyes.

"Well, opinions change," Amora snapped, but that was a lie-- she still did feel bad for him. She felt sorry for him because he truly didn't know how to process emotion and he'd been brainwashed since a young age, but she wasn't going to let him use that as an excuse to hurt her anymore.

"Why did you feel sorry for that git?" Ron retorted.

"I don't know," Amora grumbled, cheeks blazing as she dared to glance up at her friends. "Nobody is born that way. He's obviously been... brainwashed."

"That doesn't excuse his awful behaviour," Hermione stated, "Harry's suffered, and look at him."

"I never said that," Amora sighed. "I agree, okay? Let's just... stop talking about Malfoy. It's a waste of breath."

"Right," Harry agreed, "We should be eating so we can head outside quicker. It's finally getting warmer."

"That's today?" Hermione frowned, referring to the group's weekend plans to go and sit by the lake. "I thought it was tomorrow. I'm supposed to be getting help from Professor Buckley today for my Muggle Studies essay."

"You are a Muggle-born, Hermione," Kathy frowned, "I don't understand why you took it?"

"That's what I said," Ron said as he tore a piece of toast in half, practically ramming it into his mouth.

"Because it's fascinating to learn it all from a magical perspective!" Hermione stated, "I just need some help on exam technique. Your mother is so interesting, too, Amora. She's so passionate about Muggles."

"Annoyingly much," Amora huffed, "She refuses to use magic around the house to clean-- I got so many chores this Christmas!"

"Try having a Muggle father," Leon grumbled. His mother had been the witch between his two parents, but she had died when Leon was only a baby, so he never really knew her.

"Or two Muggle parents," Hermione added, "Although, I don't really mind chores."

"Anyway, I'm sorry as well, but I promised Kathy I'd take her for a date at Hogsmeade this weekend," Leon said as he flung an arm over the blonde's shoulders, making her smile and cuddle up to him. "Maybe we could do it tomorrow instead?"

Amora frowned at the disappointed expression on Harry's face. She hated seeing him look so upset. He'd been so stressed lately from the Triwizard Tournament.

"Well, you, Ron, and I can still all hang out," Amora attempted to sound as excited as possible about it, glancing to the ginger who cringed. "Oh, what other priorities could you possibly have, Ron?"

"Trelawney caught me doing an impression of her yesterday," he cringed at the memory. "The crazy old bat's got me cleaning her classroom for her until two. After that, I can hang out, though."

"Just me and you, then, Harry," Amora proposed, smiling softly at the dark-haired boy. "I'll try not to be too boring. We could still have fun."

"O-Okay," Harry agreed, smiling himself.

If only the two of them knew what would happen, then neither one of them would have gone down to sit by the lake that morning.

...


	28. Chapter 28

The sun was high in the sky, although like most British days, it was masked by grey clouds that brought a chill about the air and drained out any colour from the world. Amora and Harry's shoes crunched down on the icy grass beneath them, some parts wet from where March was shifting to soon become April. The Hufflepuff girl was eager for summer to come, for she truly believed that better weather brought about higher spirits.

"The lake's frozen," Harry stated the obvious as they made their way over to the edge of it.

Amora quirked a smile as Harry brought out a thermal blanket thing, tossing it down onto the grass so they didn't get wet. As he sat down onto it, she raised a brow.

"Why? Were you planning on taking a swim in it, Harry?" The brunette teased, adjusting her coat as she sat down beside him, the two of them looking out at the lake.

Harry grinned. "Oh yeah. The weather was perfect and everything. How rubbish."

Amora laughed, shaking her head. Harry truly was amazing when he didn't have the weight of the world on his shoulders. He could be so sarcastic and genuinely funny, most of the time without even trying. She wished that he hadn't been cursed with such a terrible fate, for she believed he deserved to be happy.

"I'm a good swimmer," Amora stated proudly after a few moments of comfortable silence. "From growing up on a beach. You know how it is, though-- only warm a few months of the year. Leon came over at the end of summer, right before the Ireland versus Bulgaria game, and he wanted to swim badly, so I agreed, but it was absolutely freezing."

"I grew up in Surrey," Harry said, "So we were landlocked, not that the Dursleys would ever take me to the beach with them when they did take my cousin. I've swum in the sea a couple times, though."

"The sea's nice to swim in when there are waves. When they get high during, like, heatwaves and stuff, Cedric used to come over and we used to try and jump into them," Amora grinned at the memory, her breath fogging out in front of her as she gave a small laugh. "I say 'used to', but he's still a big child. I bet anything he'll be coming over this summer to do it when it gets hot."

Harry smiled. "I fancy a heatwave right now. I'm not liking this cold."

"I fancy one too," Amora hummed in agreement, leaning back on her hands as she glanced out at the frozen lake, watching birds flap their wings as they flew over in the distance. "You know what? This summer, you should come and visit me. I'm sure my mother would love to have you over. Ron and Hermione should come too."

"That sounds amazing," Harry admitted, "Especially after this year. I can't wait for the Tournament to be over if I'm being perfectly honest."

"Me too," Amora mumbled, "I hate watching you and Cedric put yourselves out there like that. Not good for the heat, y'know?"

"Awh," Harry teased, punching her shoulder lightly. "Does Amora get worried over me?"

Amora rolled her eyes and shoved him with her shoulder. "Twat. You know I do. You nearly gave me a bloody heart attack when you took ages coming up from the second task last month."

"Sorry, I was busy getting attacked."

She smiled in amusement before the two of them drifted off into silence with one another. It felt peaceful, despite the cold biting at their cheeks and through Amora's fingerless gloves. She rubbed her hands together and stood up, Harry's green eyes squinting in confusion and following her over to the icy edge of the lake.

"Do you think it's strong enough to hold me?" Amora asked, cautiously dipping her foot out and prodding down on the ice which didn't budge an inch.

"Maybe," Harry quickly scrambled to his feet, brushing his hands down the back of his trousers as he stood half behind her, looking down at the icy ground. "I think so. I don't know if you should risk it, though."

"Do you dare me?"

"No?"

Amora pouted. "Damn. If you said yes, I totally would have done it."

Harry frowned for a second. "I mean... you could try. Right at the edge, though. Just in case. You're light anyway, but you know... safety precautions."

"Okay, hold my hands," Amora instructed.

Harry's brows furrowed in confusion, glancing down at her dainty hands through his circular glasses as she held them out to him. The Potter boy took them, watching as she took a couple of steps away from him, her fingers still gripping his. With one foot on the ice, Harry sent her a reassuring look and she put the other down so that she was stood on top of the frozen lake.

Amora giggled. "Aha! Too bad we don't have ice skates."

"I don't know how to ice skate," Harry admitted, holding onto only one hand now as she walked out a little further, the ice not even making sounds underneath her.

"Me either," Amora shrugged.

"We'd both be like Bambi, then," Harry joked.

"Who?" Amora frowned, glancing up from her feet, her nose and cheeks rosy in a way that had Harry's own face growing red, but for separate reasonings.

"O-Oh, it's a Muggle film," Harry waved her off. "You would enjoy it, actually. It's quite sad at one point, but yeah."

"What's it about?"

"A deer."

"Muggle films are confusing!" Amora exclaimed, releasing his hand so that she now stood by herself. "I'm sure if you came over, my mother would interrogate you on your Muggle upbringing rather than the fact that you're... well, you know, the boy who lived."

Harry laughed, folding his arms across his chest as he watched Amora take a few steps out. She feigned doing a couple of ballet moves for his own entertainment, her feet sliding across the ice less than elegantly as she did a small hop rather than jumping onto the ice-- just in case.

"Guess who I am."

Amora started to brush her hands out to the side. "Ah," she made girly noises in a French accent, standing on her tiptoes as she imitated the Beauxbatons dramatic entrance. "Ah. Ah."

Harry smacked his hand on his thigh as he laughed, his face scrunching up. He laughed even harder when she moved onto her impression of Filch running up and down the Great Hall, guessing the caretaker's name immediately. She did a couple more impressions-- one of the Durmstrang boys and another of Professor Snape before Amora had enough.

"Do you want to come out onto the ice?" Amora asked, raising a brow.

"I'd rather not," Harry admitted.

"Your loss."

Suddenly, Amora froze. Harry's brows furrowed as he watched her eyes flicker towards something behind him, a horrified expression on her face. Before Harry could turn to see what she was staring at, he heard her yell his name before a loud crack sounded throughout the air.

"Amora!" Harry screamed, watching as her body fell through the ice.

There was no time to think, Harry just lurched closer to the edge, rapidly drawing his wand out. However, the ice was cracked and revealed only the merky water beneath, no sign of the brunette who had just been standing there, entertaining him whilst he laughed. His heart felt like it was in his throat as he dropped to his knees.

"Amora!" He yelled again.

The sound was distant in Amora's head from where she was drifting down and down. She attempted to fight the cold water, but it had been a shock to her body, her limbs barely moving as she tried to kick her legs desperately. She was a good swimmer, but she was too numb to move now and she'd not had the chance to catch her breath before the ice had magically been broken beneath her feet.

When Amora took in the first gulp of water, it felt like her lungs were on fire, hot despite the cold, and her heart was thumping yet slowing at the same time. She struggled with all her might, refusing to let go, but eventually, the darkness started creeping in, her numb body becoming a victim to the ice water as she was forced to succumb to the world of nothingness. 

D.M + A.B

"Someone fell into the lake!"

"Harry Potter saved them!"

"I heard they're dead."

"No one knows yet."

Draco Malfoy's nose scrunched at the sound of a bunch of second years gossiping a little further down the nearly empty Slytherin table that lunchtime. Most people were at Hogsmeade or hanging around other areas of the castle, but Draco had taken advantage of the quiet hall and decided to eat whilst he read the Daily Prophet. He wasn't interested in what they were saying until he heard Potter was involved, his silver eyes rolling.

Of course, Potter was involved.

"No way could they have survived," one of the second years muttered, "I heard that Hagrid carried their body through the corridor to the Medical Wing. Madam Pomfrey slammed the doors shut behind him so nobody could see in and left Potter crying outside."

"If Potter was crying then they're obviously dead," one boy huffed. "Who even is it? His Weasley friend or the Muggle-born one?"

Draco's ears perked up as he strained to listen. It hadn't occurred to him until then that it would be one of Potter's friends in danger because Potter would save anyone. He wanted to know whether or not it was Weasley or Granger, curiosity causing him to stop reading an article about the Triwizard Tournament in order to hear properly.

"Well, Kenny said he saw long hair, so probably the Muggle-born."

Draco's nose scrunched up, wondering if Granger was going to be okay. She probably would be. He stood from his seat, pushing his copy of the Daily Prophet in front of him and ditching the toast that he'd been eating, despite the fact that it was now midday and no longer considered breakfast time. He brushed his hands together to rid them of any crumbs and stepped away from the table, out of the Great Hall.

It was still quite empty considering it was a Saturday, but there was an odd feeling in the castle. Something felt tense. The pounding of footsteps made Draco's neck crane to the side and he saw Professor Snape walking as quickly as he could towards the opposite end of the floor, Professor Buckley right beside him, her hand on her heart and a panicked look on her face.

It took Draco a second or two, and then to see Granger herself a few steps behind them, to realise that it had not been the Muggle-born witch that had fallen through the iced over lake. His heart dropped in his chest, the second years' words suddenly meaning completely different things in Draco's head.

They're dead. No way could they have survived. Hagrid carried their body through the corridor.

Draco didn't think, his heart in his throat as he took off after Granger. He felt like his world was crashing down around him, all of these regrets and dark thoughts swallowing him whole as he moved and grabbed her arm. Hermione whirled around, latte eyes wide with tears as she yanked Draco off of her arm.

"What?" She hissed furiously, her voice nearly breaking.

Draco's face fell. "Is it her?" He demanded.

"Where is she?" Cedric's voice boomed loudly, his footsteps marching forward and confirming all of Draco's deepest fears. "Where is my cousin?"

Hermione tore away from Draco and grabbed Cedric's wrist. "Snape told Professor Buckley that Madam Pomfrey had struggled to get her breathing again--"

Cedric's face grew red and crumbled, but before his mouth could open to release a sob, Hermione grabbed him tighter.

"But you know what that means!" She cut him off, "It means she's alive."

Draco stood, still as a statue, as he watched Hermione and Cedric rush off towards the Medical Wing. Tears of pure fear clouded his vision and Draco stepped aside, out of the middle of the entrance foyer, biting down on his thumb and taking a deep breath. So many deep breaths that his chest was then heaving, anxiety gripping him and dragging him down.

He had no idea what was going on, his heart a frenzy and his world spinning, when he felt a pair of hands grab him. Pansy was saying something to him, but Draco had no idea what. He was breathing too heavily and he felt like he was dying. She dragged him down to the dungeons, away from everybody else, and set him down by one of the walls.

"You're having a panic attack," Pansy said slowly, "You need to calm down, Malfoy."

"Amo--" Draco gasped, shaking his head, "Amora's dead--"

At that moment in time, he didn't care if Pansy knew about his feelings for Amora. If she knew that he liked a supposed Blood-traitor, or that she really did mean something to him. He had a feeling that Pansy already knew. He'd seen her talking to Amora a couple of times since their fight, and Pansy had been shooting him suspicious looks all the way back in January when he and Amora first started their... little fling.

"No," Pansy snapped, "she's not dead. Buckley's alive, okay?"

"Granger said--"

"Granger said that Amora was alive," Pansy said the world as if she was speaking to a toddler. "You need to tell me five things you can see."

Draco shot her an incredulous look through his heavy breaths. "Wha-- No."

"Just do it!" Pansy ordered.

Normally, Draco would have put Pansy in her place, told her that nobody gets to yell at him, but he was in no position to do so. He felt weak, like he was dying, and Pansy seemed to be the only one between them two of them that actually knew what was going on with him.

"F-Five things. Right. Um, the wall. The floor. You. My hands. My- My ring."

She liked my ring.

Draco recalled the way that she had complimented it the night that they had been locked in the library together, and how she had played with it after they had made out one time, causing an eruption of butterflies in his stomach. The feeling had been so foriegn and intense that he had shoved her hands away from him, terrified at what she could do simply by grazing her fingertips across his skin.

"Four things you can feel."

Pansy led him through his panic attack, watching until he was simply slumped against the wall, platinum hair damp and clinging to his pale forehead as he shakily breathed. Worry now coursed through her veins, concerned for the Hufflepuff and Draco who she didn't know had actually cared this much about Amora.

Draco didn't realise he cared this much about Amora. Of course he had an idea that he liked her more than he should have, but he didn't think it was anything like this. That it had gotten this bad.

He wanted to go and see her. He wanted to so badly. To check that she was okay, to ask what had happened, to demand that whoever's fault it was to be expelled-- especially if it was Potter. However, Draco was terrified that he would turn up and get pushed away, not by Amora's friends, but by Amora herself.

"Do you think she's..." Draco didn't glance up from his trembling hands, his body feeling weaker than ever from the panic attack he had just suffered.

There was a bitter taste in his mouth. Draco had never detested a sensation so much as he had that one. He had felt so helpless and so weak-- so scared that he'd been forced to take help from Pansy Parkinson. No doubt if his father ever found out that Draco had been so terrified then he would roll his eyes and call him pathetic.

"Buckley's going to be fine," Pansy spoke, but it sounded as though she was trying to convince herself as well as Draco.

Draco hoped so. He prayed so. On every possession he had ever owned, he needed Amora to be okay.

Pansy was saying something else to him, but Draco had already taken off, heading towards the Medical Wing where he knew the brunette would be. He knew he had heard that Madam Pomfrey had slammed the door straight in Potter's face as soon as Hagrid had turned up with Amora's body, but he hoped that now she was supposedly breathing again that he would be allowed inside.

Draco paced, long legs striding as fast as he could. The Slytherin jumper and black trousers were generally quite loose, yet they had never felt so tight and constricting as his heart pounded again, thoughts of Amora filling his brain. He had no idea what he was going to say when he arrived at the Medical Wing to see her, all he knew was that he needed to get a look at her. To see for himself that she was going to be all right. Pansy's words were nothing but empty promises and he knew that.

The doors were shut when Draco found himself outside the Medical Wing, but Harry and Hermione were sat on the floor outside, the bushy-haired girl stroking Harry's back whilst silent tears strolled down his face. He looked traumatised. Draco swallowed thickly as he stopped in front of them.

Hermione didn't look too surprised to see him there, but as Harry slowly glanced up, the pain in his green eyes quickly turned to anger and he broke out of Hermione's tender grasp to grab him by the collar of his green and silver jumper. Draco glared as Harry slammed him against the wall behind them, making no moves to shove him off. He wanted to hear what Potter had to say first.

"It was you, wasn't it?" Harry snapped, "You were so jealous that Amora and I were actually enjoying ourselves that you just had to come along and ruin it, didn't you?"

Draco was horrified for a second, realising that somebody had done this to Amora. It hadn't been some accident where the ridiculously clumsy Hufflepuff had fallen into the lake— somebody had meant to seriously harm her.

Anger took over the second Draco realised what Harry was implying. Was he seriously accusing Draco of hurting Amora? Of trying to kill her?

He shoved Harry off of him roughly. "I don't know what you're talking about, Potter. I was nowhere near the bloody lake."

"Oh, how believable," Harry seethed, teeth gritted. "Amora was just complaining about how much of an arse you are the other day, and then suddenly this happens? I find it hard to believe that you're innocent."

"Believe what you want," Draco growled, "I did not hurt Amora."

Harry's fist bunched up, but before he could hurl it towards the pale blond, Hermione snapped out of the confused daze she was in and grabbed his shoulder and arm, lowering it.

"Harry!" She cried, shaking her head. "I think he's telling the truth. I don't think Malfoy hurt Amora."

"What?" Harry turned to look at her incredulously. "Of course he did, Hermione. There's no other person in this entire school that holds a grudge against her!"

"I didn't do it," Draco spat, "I didn't come here for you to accuse me, either."

"Oh, really?" Harry scoffed. "What did you come here for, then? To make fun of her? To rub it in my face?"

"I came to see if she was okay."

Draco's heavy words caused a silence amongst the three teenagers. Harry looked dumbfounded for a second, green eyes faltering as they flickered across Draco's face, looking for any sign of insincerity. And whilst Harry definitely saw dread and fear and hesitation, he didn't see any malicious intent behind the icy grey eyes Harry had grown to detest more and more each day.

"What does it matter to you?" Harry grumbled, turning his back on Draco and running his hand through his hair.

Draco felt his stomach knot at the question. What did it matter to him? It felt like everything right now.

"Well, Buckley's all right, isn't she?" Draco muttered, pursing his dried lips as he tried to hold back. "We're DADA partners. Not to mention she hangs around with Parkinson occasionally. Or Zabini. I've gotten to know her."

Hermione wouldn't stop staring at him, her lips parting at his final sentence. The look behind her caramel eyes said everything. She knew. Hermione was a clever girl, the smartest in the school. She knew something had been going on between Draco and Amora— a mutual pining or sense of attraction, she believed. But now she knew it was stronger than that.

Harry seemed to fail to notice the way Draco's hands trembled slightly, or how his blond hair wasn't as neat as usual. In fact, it looked like he'd been raking his hands back and forth through it on a vicious loop. He was paler than normal too— if that was even possible. Hermione took note of it though, able to keep a rational head unlike Harry who was panicking over Amora.

"She was down there a long time," Harry exhaled shakily, not looking Draco in the eye. "I couldn't see her. One moment she was laughing, the next she saw someone behind me and screamed and then she was gone."

Draco's chest ached at the thought. Part of him was glad he hadn't been there because he was sure he would have freaked out and had another of what Pansy had called 'a panic attack.' He might not have been able to save Amora. The other part of him was convinced that she wouldn't have even been put in that position if it was him with her. He wouldn't have allowed her on the ice, he would have kept her safe from people with bad intentions lurking around.

"How did you get her out?" It was Hermione that asked this question, Draco was still in a state of shock.

"I didn't. The Giant Squid pushed her to the surface. I grabbed her from there. She wasn't breathing— I— I screamed and Hagrid heard... Oh God, Leon needs to know."

"He's at Hogsmeade with Kathy, he'll be back soon—"

Fury raged in Draco's stomach. He remembered the time he'd been inspecting his broken nose, curtesy of Hermione, when Hagrid had come stumbling in with her tiny figure in his arms. He remembered how angry he had felt for her when she briefly explained what had happened— after she had nearly flooded the place with her tears and crushed his hand.

"Not the first time you've caused Buckley to end up in here," Draco suddenly snapped, furious. "I'm surprised you decided to help her this time, considering the two of you left her to practically rot when she was struck by the Whomping Willow last year."

Hermione looked hurt whilst Harry appeared furious. "Shut up, Malfoy," he growled.

"Why should I? You know I'm right, Potter. You left her there, and whilst Buckley is stupid enough to forget about it, I won't. Not when you go prancing around the school pretending to be some sort of Saint, sacrificing innocent people carelessly."

Hermione gasped, "Malfoy—"

"No," he cut her off roughly. "This is the second time you've nearly gotten her killed. The second time—"

"Why do you care so much?" Harry suddenly yelled, shoving Draco back by the shoulders. "You act like you're in love with her or something!"

The doors to the Medical Wing creaked open to reveal Cedric. The older Hufflepuff had red eyes, but he managed a tiny smile in the direction of Harry. The three teenagers fell silent, listening eagerly.

"She's going to be okay."


	29. Chapter 29

Hushed murmurs echoed around Amora. It felt as though she was still underwater for a second, the familiar voice of her mother bouncing off her ears. Startled, Amora forced herself to wake, eyes fluttering open slower than they felt. Her lids were heavy, her curtain of lashes peeling back to reveal a brighter world to her.

She was in the Hospital Wing, a place she knew all too well, and standing at the foot of her bed was her mother and Professor Dumbledore. Amora blinked a couple of times as everything came flooding back, her jaw clenching slightly at the awful memory.

She remembered laughing with Harry and then seeing somebody behind him in the line of trees. It was as if the person's face had been wiped from her brain as soon as they lifted their wand and sent her under the ice.

Amora swallowed nervously. Somebody tried to kill her.

"Ah, Amora," Dumbledore said softly, eyes twinkling upon seeing that she was now conscious. "You gave everybody quite the fright."

Professor Buckley gasped and was by her daughter's side in an instant. She wiped the dark hair off of her pale forehead and stroked her cheek, her mother's eyes filling with tears of relief. She helped Amora sit up from where the brunette was clearly struggling on her own.

"Oh, Amora," she cried, "My sweet, baby Amora. Harry said somebody did this to you!"

Amora's hand weakly moved to hold her mum's in an attempt to calm the woman down. It worked slightly, Professor Buckley appeared a little less frantic as she squeezed Amora's hand.

"I- I'm fine, mum," Amora said, her voice coming out more croaky than she'd expected it to.

"Do you remember what happened, Amora?" Dumbledore questioned softly. "Harry has given us his side of the story."

She swallowed. "I was on the lake talking to Harry. Then I saw someone behind him. All I remember is the confusion, wondering why they were there, and then I remember how scared I was when they pulled their wand out and pointed it to me."

"You do not remember who it was?" Professor Buckley interrogated, "think, sweetheart. Professor Dumbledore needs to hold someone accountable."

"I really don't remember." Amora's bottom lip trembled, fear causing her heart to race.

She struggled to comprehend her forgetfulness. But this didn't feel natural— it felt magical. Their figure was literally blocked from her brain as if something was stopping her from accessing their face and body.

"It's likely that a Memory Charm has been used against her," Dumbledore stated regretfully. "In which case, we will have to be extra careful. Amora, is there anybody you've had a dispute with at Hogwarts? No matter how small."

Draco.

Amora shook the thought out of her head as quickly as it came. It was absurd to think that he would do something like that to her. Draco could be cruel, but not a single part of her being believed he was capable of something like this.

She seemed to get along okay with everybody else, minus everything that had happened with Crabbe and Goyle after the Yule Ball. However, that was four months ago now, and Amora only recalled one figure. She felt like if it were them, they would have done it together.

"I don't think so," Amora rubbed her throat which ached, as well as her chest and her lungs whenever she inhaled too hard or quickly.

Professor Buckley rubbed her back soothingly as she glanced up at Dumbledore. "Amora's a sweet child. She wouldn't say boo to a goose."

The brunette had to refrain from raising her eyebrows in front of her mother and the headmaster. Any of her friends would know that that was true— unless the goose said boo first.

Her entire relationship with Draco had been built upon that aspect of her personality. He was the only person she would ever insult because he was the only person that insulted her first.

"In that case, perhaps it has something to do with Harry then." Dumbledore's eyes darkened at the realisation, a frown on his face. "It certainly wouldn't be the first time."

The thought clouded Amora with more anxiety. She didn't want Harry to have even more stress upon his shoulders, especially with the final task coming up in a few months. She knew how worried he was about it, how worried he was about everything.

After that, Dumbledore told her to rest up and wished her a speedy recovery before he left with Professor Buckley. It seemed that he had told her friends she was awake on the way out, for then numerous footsteps came rushing in.

Amora managed a small smile in the direction of Leon as he tore out of Kathy's hand, diving to her bedside and grabbing Amora's hand which rested on top of her lap.

"You scared the hell out of me," Leon snapped, attempting to sound firm as his chocolate eyes pooled with tears of relief. "Harry said that you were attacked?"

Amora squeezed his hand gently, her eyes peeling to look at the shaggy-haired brunet who peered at her softly through his glasses. She sent him a small smile, hoping it would relieve some of the anxiety he was probably feeling. If Amora knew Harry like she thought he did, then he was probably feeling really guilty right now. She didn't want him to feel that way though.

"Yes, I can't remember who," Amora admitted, earning a sympathetic look from Hermione. "Dumbledore believes that I was charmed to forget their face. I think so too. It's like... when there's something on the tip of your tongue, but you can't seem to get it out."

"We'll figure this out, Amora," Hermione promised her fiercely.

"Harry reckons it's Malfoy," Ron added quietly, watching as Amora's brows furrowed. "Not gonna lie, I think so too."

Hermione rolled her eyes.

"They're right, Amora." Leon squeezed her hand again. "Who else would want to hurt you?"

"Malfoy wouldn't... he wouldn't hurt me," Amora swallowed, shaking her head.

She refused to believe what they were trying to convince her. They were wrong. She could feel it, and she knew it too. Draco wouldn't hurt her, not like that, anyway. She knew him better than they knew him, and their accusation made her sick to her stomach.

Suddenly, Amora became aware of a part of herself that she wasn't aware even existed. Her heart burned with anger and her stomach felt so twisted with knots because they were speaking badly of Draco, somebody that she had grown a loyal attachment to. She wasn't conscious that she was loyal to him until now-- when her loyalty had been questioned. Amora didn't know how to feel about it.

"How do you know?" Harry questioned roughly. "I don't doubt for a second that he wouldn't take the opportunity to hurt me. Even if it meant doing this."

"Yes, Malfoy hates you, Harry, but he doesn't hate Amora," Hermione huffed matter-of-factly, earning looks of interest from the group of Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs.

"What do you mean?" Kathy asked softly, watching as Amora's cheeks blazed bright red.

"Well, do you remember when he leant her his jumper? Or when he was her dance partner before the Yule Ball, or how he fights over Harry about her?" Hermione questioned, earning a few nods. "Yes, well, I believe that Malfoy has a soft spot for our Amora like I mentioned before. Perhaps even a crush."

"A crush!?" Ron repeated loudly, grimacing. "Merlin, I feel sorry for you if that's true, Amora!"

Amora's heart started to pound slightly in her chest as her tongue darted out to wet her dry lips. She could add to Hermione's list of things Draco had done for her, but she wasn't sure that she wanted them to believe that Draco might have feelings for her.

"You think Malfoy likes Amora?" Leon's hand left hers to hold her shoulder, his jaw slightly clenched.

Hermione nodded. "He seemed genuinely scared for her earlier, didn't he, Harry?"

Harry sighed before he admitted yes with a small nod. This was, of course, news to Amora who wasn't aware that Draco had come around to see how she was. It made her heart flutter, images of a loving relationship with him filtering her brain. One where he wasn't incredibly defensive over his feelings and attempted to hurt her to protect himself.

"What do you think, Amora?" Kathy asked, brows furrowed. "Do you reckon Malfoy likes you?"

"I don't know," she muttered, glancing down at her hands which were playing with each other. "Can we just forget about Malfoy? I agree with Hermione that he doesn't hate me, though. We... Well, we're DADA partners, and we've had some... decent conversations."

"You were calling him an arse the other day," Leon pointed out bluntly.

"It's complicated!" Amora huffed, "I just don't think Malfoy's as evil as you think. An arse, yes, but not evil."

"I think we're thinking of different Malfoys," Ron grumbled, glaring at her slightly.

Amora cowered under his gaze. "He didn't do this to me," she whispered. "Just leave it."

Her friends managed to steer the conversation away from Amora's secret ex-lover rather quickly after that, much to her relief. Although, it felt like it was all that was on the back of her mind, even when she found out that she had been unconscious for nearly twenty-four hours now and that she had stopped breathing for a few minutes, only to be revived by Madam Pomfrey. Amora definitely owed the woman a card and some flowers at the very least.

The idea that she had only merely escaped the cold grasp of death tolled with her mind, leaving her in a bad mood for the rest of the day, even as her friends left and her mother returned with Cedric, who was overjoyed to find his cousin awake and alive. Madam Pomfrey said she needed to stay overnight, just to make sure that everything was okay.

Amora was somewhat glad. She didn't feel like returning to her dormitory where Hannah, Susan, and Zena would most likely bombard her with question after question. Kathy had brought her down some books and Leon had bought her some sweets at Hogsmeade anyway, which sat untouched on her bedside table. The bed in the Hospital Wing was not as comfortable as the one in her dorm.

She shuffled around, tucking her hand under her pillow and curling it in half in an attempt to make it feel fluffier, laying on her side and staring at the line of empty beds on the other side of her. It was eerily quiet. She couldn't listen to Susan's snores or Zena's irregular shuffling, nor glance to her side and see Hannah scrambling to finish last-minute homework underneath her covers.

Footsteps quietly entered through the main doors and Amora stilled, her breathing quietening. She was sure from the silence of the castle that it was past curfew by now, not that she had been checking the time. Madam Pomfrey had even gone to bed half an hour ago, after making sure that all of Amora's needs and requirements were attended to.

"Amora?" His all-too-familiar whisper sent shivers down her spine, Amora's hand under her pillow scrunching into a fist.

She turned, shuffling on the mattress to see Draco standing there. His silver eyes burned into her, soft and eager as his full lips parted, shoulders sagging in relief at the sight of her awake and breathing. Amora sat up, her dark hair sprawling across her shoulders and her heart automatically pulling towards him, drifting from her body to settle in his hands.

It was up to Draco what he did with it now. She hoped he treated it well.

"Draco," Amora swallowed, her unusually pale skin lit up by the candle on her bedside.

"You're okay," he breathed, stumbling a step forward until he was in front of her.

"I am," Amora confirmed quietly.

"Thank Merlin," Draco blurted, dropping to his knees in front of the bed and grabbing her hands, noticing how they were colder than usual. His eyes desperately peered into hers. "Who did this to you?" He demanded. "I'll get rid of them, Amora. I promise. Nothing like this will ever happen to you again."

Amora stared back at him, slightly overwhelmed. For nearly two weeks now, he'd been avoiding her as much as she'd been avoiding him, allowing her to believe that he had truly meant his words during their explosive fight. However, now, as he gripped her, looking her in the eye, he was doing a complete three-sixty, contradicting himself completely.

"I don't know who did it," she told him what she had been telling everyone-- the truth.

Draco's face fell. "You don't trust me?"

"I trust you," Amora said, not hesitating to tell him-- though, as she thought back a second later, she wondered if her words were true or not. They must be if she had been so willing to blurt them. "I am telling the truth, Draco. Dumbledore reckons it's some sort of memory charm being used against me. I assume he will find a way to break it."

The platinum-haired boy's face softened and his fingers tore from hers as he became more reserved, standing up straighter so Amora had to look up at him. He ran a hand through his soft locks and peered around the empty room.

"What did Madam Pomfrey say?" Draco asked, "You're going to be okay, right?"

"I will be."

Draco could sense the tension. He wasn't completely oblivious. He wished that he could ignore it and that they could just move on without the need for his apologies, but he knew that it meant something to Amora for them to talk things out. She wouldn't let him off as easy as she did last time, he knew that much. He didn't even know if she would forgive him for certain.

Part of him had hoped that she would have been asleep when he came to the Hospital Wing to see her. That he would find her sleeping peacefully, soft breaths escaping her lips and looking content and unharmed. Then he wouldn't have to struggle through another painful conversation, and he could go to sleep knowing that Amora was okay. At the same time it was refreshing to hear her voice and look her in the eye after far too long without her.

"Why are you here, Draco?" Amora murmured after a while, and he knew the question was coming.

"Because..."

He could lie. He could be selfish and lie to protect himself and keep his parents happy, but after the dream that he'd had and Amora's near-death experience, Draco wasn't sure that that was what he wanted anymore.

Amora raised her dark brows. "Because?"

"Because I was worried," Draco blurted, running a hand through his blond hair again. "People were saying you were dead and... just the thought that the last thing I ever said to you was that I was glad we weren't in a relationship made me feel sick."

Amora remained silent, playing with her hands. "I can't."

She thought about Pansy and everything the ebony-haired girl had told her.

"You can't what?" Draco said, and it sounded more like he was pleading her, already having an idea what she was talking about.

"Do this for a third time," Amora admitted, "I would be stupid to."

"Then be stupid!" Draco didn't hesitate to cry to her. "Amora, I've been doing so much thinking. You... You infuriate me to no end, but I can't stand being away from you. You were right, okay? You were right when you said that we both contradicted ourselves by being with one another, but I'm willing to do that. I'll set it all aside, I'll not give a shit what anybody else thinks, I'll be a hypocrite for you."

Amora swallowed. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. It was almost too good to be true. She started to think that perhaps she really had drowned and now she was dead.

"Are you serious?" She asked quietly.

Draco nodded quickly. "Merlin, Amora. I don't think I've ever been more serious about anything in my life."

"But Draco, our parents--"

"Fuck them," Draco hissed, "They don't have to know for now. For now, please just let me be with you. For real this time."

Amora's heart was swelling. Draco had told her the night he kissed her on the Astronomy Tower after the Yule Ball that he didn't do romance-- that he thought it was pathetic, and that she was crazy if she thought she was going to get some perfect scene from one of her Muggle novels from him, yet this seemed pretty close to one.

It felt like he was opening up to her, fully this time, and she could see the fear written all across his face, despite the confidence behind each word he forced out. Merlin, Amora wanted to kiss the life out of him right now.

"We have to promise to try and be better for each other," Amora whispered, moving up onto her knees and grabbing the tie that was loosely wrapped around his neck. "Please."

"I promise," he said.

Much to her surprise, Draco extended his hand and extended his pinkie finger, waiting for her to connect hers with it. Amora did so, nearly shivering at the feeling of his skin colliding with hers so innocently. Draco stared down at their joined fingers for a few seconds before his silver eyes flickered up to meet her amber ones. He smiled slightly, the sight taking Amora back. She was so used to his cold looks.

"I can't swear I'll be any good at this," Draco mumbled, "But I'm going to try my best."

"That's all I ask," Amora whispered, and then Draco leaned down.

He was much taller than her from where she was kneeled on the hard mattress of the hospital bed, his neck craning down to meet her lips in the middle. It felt like a breath of fresh air to feel his lips on top of hers, and Amora came to realise that this had most likely been Draco's love language the entire time. He told her over and over that he wasn't good with words like she was, but he was certainly good at moving his mouth against hers.

His palm fell away from where it had been cupping her cheek, shaky sighs leaving both of them as he pressed his forehead against hers. Amora smiled, biting down on her lip. She couldn't deny the giddy feeling that was fluttering through her system, allowing her to feel on top of the world. Draco chuckled too, shaking his head in amusement.

"I'm assuming that was good for you?" He said in a hushed murmur, his large hand trailing down from on top of her hand and down her arm.

"More than good," she admitted, "Does this... Make us together?"

"I'm yours," Draco said sincerely, "All yours, Amora."

"Then I'm yours, too, Draco," Amora told him.

Draco's eyes fluttered closed as her arms wrapped around his middle, pulling him closer. His arms held her frame, his chin on top of her head as he thought about the huge commitment that he had just made. He hadn't left his dormitory planning to come back in a relationship with the girl he liked more than anything, but he wasn't going to complain.

This felt good. Terrifying, but good.

"If it gets too much for you, you need to let me know before it causes another fight," Amora whispered against his chest, the vibrations causing him to shiver. "I care about you, Draco."

"Why?" Draco frowned as he pulled away. "That's the one thing I cannot wrap my head around. Why you would like somebody like me. I always thought you would end up with Potter or Holloway."

He spat their names out like they were walking diseases.

"You're a risk," Amora admitted, her finger absentmindedly tracing the long sleeve of his shirt. "I think it made me want to get to know you more when you were nice to me in the library that night. I was so confused, but because you're you, it made the gesture all the more flattering... if that makes sense. I know you wouldn't do that for anyone. And... And you're handsome, and you're incredibly smart and witty, and... Did I mention handsome?"

A genuine smile took over Draco's face as he laughed quietly, shaking his head. "I believe you did. It's the Malfoy genes, you see."

"Ah," Amora played along. "Does that mean you'll get your father's lucious locks when you're older, too?"

Draco shoved her teasingly, rolling his eyes.

"No, seriously, if you could just drop me his hair routine--"

"Amora," Draco warned playfully, "Enough about him. I don't want to think about my father right now."

Amora frowned a little, sensing a slightly deeper meaning behind his words as he sat down on the bed beside her, their shoulders brushing. She didn't try and pry it out of him though. He'd already put himself out there so much tonight, and she was sure that if he wanted to tell her, then he would.

"I don't want to be sappy, but I care about you too," Draco said, referring to Amora's previous words. "Sometimes I think too much."

The brunette believed the Draco didn't even need to say anything else to make her heart swell. Her arm on his side snaked to intertwine with his. He glanced down at her as she leant her head against his arm, the scent of cologne filling her nose in the cold bleakness of the Hospital Wing.

"Will you tell me when you realise you liked me, though?" She asked softly. "I'm curious."

"I think when Hagrid came running in here with you last year. At the time I didn't know why I cared so much. I don't think I even realised until this year, actually," Draco said. "He doesn't deserve you as a friend, you know. Potter, I mean. He let this happen to you."

"Draco," Amora warned, her voice barely above a whisper.

It silenced him. They stayed there like that for a few hours, enjoying each other's company, until eventually, the sun began to shine through the windows and Draco had to return to his dormitory before Madam Pomfrey caught them together.

Draco's words ignited something inside her, memories of how hurt and scared she had been to discover the Golden Trio had left her under the Whomping Willow after she'd tried to help them filling her brain. She brushed them off, convinced that she was just letting his words get to her because Harry and Ron had annoyed her earlier by insisting her attacker had been Draco.

Amora was just ready for everything to go back to normal.


	30. Chapter 30

When Amora was finally released from the Hospital Wing, Professor Sprout had guided her through the Common Room and to her dormitory, banging on and on about how if she felt sick at all then her office wasn't too far. Amora appreciated the older woman's words, smiling politely and promising to come and find her if anything else happened, but at the same time, all she wanted to do was lay down on a bed that was comfortable.

The rest of the girls were all in their first period when Professor Sprout led her to her own devices inside the large room. Amora sat down on her own bed, popping Kathy's book and Leon's sweets on the table next to her. She felt cold-- she had ever since she had woken up from falling in that icy lake. She grabbed her Hufflepuff jumper and pulled the black and gold material over her head, bunching the sleeves past her hand.

Despite the fact that she had been given the permission to have that Monday off from classes, Amora didn't want to waste her day and instead moved to the library. Madam Pince squinted her eyes at the girl as she picked out a few books on Herbology, hoping to heighten her knowledge and maybe impress Neville during their next study session with some niche facts.

"Buckley," Pansy chided, sliding into the seat next to her.

"Hi, Pansy," Amora murmured, looking up from the books sprawled out in front of her. "No lesson this morning?"

"Yes, I just couldn't be bothered," she admitted, "How are you feeling, anyway? Did they find out who did this to you? People are talking-- Malfoy's names been flying around."

Amora frowned slightly. "That's nonsense," she muttered, "I don't know who did it, but it certainly wasn't Draco."

"That's exactly what I was thinking," Pansy huffed, "He always get Crabbe and Goyle to do his dirty work, anyway. Besides... He was quite the wreck after he found out what had happened."

The brunette's eyes widened a little. "Really?"

"Yes." The Slytherin didn't hold a mocking tone anymore. "He had a panic attack. I've never seen Malfoy so freaked out."

Amora's heart skipped a beat. It didn't feel good to know that Draco had been so scared that he'd suffered an anxiety attack, yet it was reassuring in a way that he definitely cared about her. She was just glad that he was okay now. He seemed like he was fine when he had come to visit her last night, and she knew he certainly retreated back to his dormitory okay.

"He asked me out," she blurted to him.

Pansy didn't look surprised. It felt nice to get it off of her chest. Amora had been so excited that she'd even wanted to blurt it to her mother this morning, or Madam Pomfrey when she was signing her out, and even Professor Sprout as the curly-haired woman made sure she got to her dormitory alright.

"I take it you said yes?"

"I did," Amora gushed, before her smile faded, looking at her new Slytherin mentor. "Should I not have said that?"

Pansy thought it was nearly cute how much Amora took Pansy's advice and words to heart. The girl almost resembled a lost puppy, listening to every word Pansy said as if all of her opinions on relationships and Malfoy were completely objective. You would think Pansy was the smartest person in the school by the way that Amora considered all of her advice.

"I think you said the right thing," Pansy agreed, taking Amora by surprise. "Malfoy was a mess. I can assure you that he doesn't care about anyone in this bloody castle like he does you. Besides, if he asked you out then you can be sure he truly means it this time. Everything's serious with that boy."

"Has... He ever had a girlfriend before?" Amora asked.

She didn't think that he had, but she could never be sure. She didn't know quite how to ask him either.

"No," Pansy deadpanned, "I didn't think he'd ever get one, either. I mean, I'm pretty sure his first kiss was you. He'd kill me for telling you that."

Amora wasn't sure why Pansy irritated Draco so much. She had only ever had a handful of conversations with the Slytherin girl, and Amora thought she was wonderful. Or maybe it's just because she said everything Amora wanted to hear-- she wasn't sure. Either way, Pansy wasn't as bad as she had thought.

The brunette blushed, pushing some of her hair out of her face. "You wouldn't have thought so with the way he walks around like he owns the place," Amora said, "I was half-worried you would tell me that he's snogged half the girls in Slytherin or something."

"Malfoy's more reserved than that. He hates when anybody even sits too close to him. Unless it's, like, Zabini or Nott," Pansy shrugged.

Amora thought of Pansy's words, even as she trailed to dinner that evening after being cooped up in the library all day, keeping her head down to avoid any students that happened to wander inside during their free periods or to get materials for class. She nearly tripped over her own feet, her brain consumed by the thought of Draco, her boyfriend.

A giddy feeling spread across her again. She took her usual seat at the Hufflepuff table, the small smile on her face being wiped away when Justin tossed what she believed was a crouton at the side of her head. Amora frowned, picking it up and tossing it back at him. Justin released a sound as if she had punched him across the cheek rather than caused the small piece of food to collide with his shoulder.

"Oi, you okay, Amora?" Justin asked, "We all heard what happened."

Others at the table were looking over at her, causing her to smile nervously. She wasn't used to this kind of attention. Other than being friends with Harry Potter, Amora tended to keep under the radar. She never really had any reason to be the talk of the school. Her cousin was talked about, so was her mother, and definitely her friends, but never her directly.

"I'm fine," she said, "thank you for asking."

"Is it true that Malfoy did it?" Susan quizzed, her nose scrunched up as she glanced over her shoulder at the Slytherin table where rows of students in forest green robes sat, minding their own business.

"No!" Amora huffed defensively, grabbing a bowl and a large spoon, pouring soup into it.

"Well, how do you know?" Ernie asked. "People are sayin' you can't even remember who did it."

"I just don't think it was him, okay?" Amora sighed, rolling her eyes.

Zacharias scoffed. "What valid reasoning," he remarked sarcastically. "I would bet all my Galleons it was a Slytherin that did it."

"Maybe a Durmstrang or Beauxbaton!" Justin gasped as if they were simply playing some sort of game of Guess Who.

"Why would they do it?" Hannah retorted.

"To throw Cedric off! So they win!"

"Or maybe a Gryffindor-- they might be angry that Hufflepuff are finally going to win something for once," Ernie suggested.

Nothing they were saying was helping with the slight paranoia that had been following her around all day. Amora's face scrunched up as felt disgust surge through her veins. She couldn't believe the way that they were talking about her as if she wasn't even there, or as if she hadn't stopped breathing and nearly died.

Maybe even if she had died they would still talk about her like this. Like it was some sort of clue game.

"Would you lot shut up?" Amora snapped, "I don't think you understand how pathetically stupid you all sound right now!"

Her housemates all raised their eyebrows, cautiously backing off the teenage girl who was gripping her spoon far too hard to be natural. Someone muttered something under their breath, but Amora didn't catch it. She was glad she didn't catch it as well, otherwise she would have most likely bitten their head off. She wasn't in the mood anymore. Part of her wanted to just take her bowl down to her room with her.

Thankfully, Kathy and Leon came to join her about a minute later. Leon extended his arm and threw it over Amora's shoulder casually, squeezing it and then releasing her. Amora got a whiff of the familiar scent of his cologne and the clean smell of his school uniform-- like baby powder or something. It calmed her as she sent him a small smile.

"All right, Amora?" He asked as he reached forward to the middle of the long table and grabbed a jug of pumpkin juice.

"Don't ask her that," Zacharias huffed, rolling his eyes. "She'll snap your head off, mate."

The sandy-haired boy's words pushed Amora over the edge. She dropped her spoon far too harshly, the clattering sound making Leon jump. He frowned between Amora and Zacharias as the brunette moved onto her feet, glaring down at the Hufflepuff Leon often found himself clashing with too. He was quite cynical, preferring to keep to himself unlike the rest of the Hufflepuff boys who looked out for each other.

"You bet I bloody will," she spat at him. "But not his-- yours, you useless twat."

Leon began to choke on his pumpkin juice, Kathy smacking his bed whilst watching with wide eyes as Amora pulled her legs over the bench. Hannah called her name, but the brunette was already storming out the hall and into the foyer.

"Amora!" Hermione beamed innocently as she passed the Golden Trio heading towards the Great Hall, but she ignored them, trying to get to the Hufflepuff dorms as quickly as she could.

"Amora?" Harry called worriedly. "Amora!"

The brunette felt a hand grab her arm and she turned, facing Harry. Hermione and Ron were gone, leaving her with just a worried-looking green-eyed boy. He peered at her cautiously and took a step back, his hand falling from her wrist as he scanned her up and down, as if looking for the reason her face looked so furious.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"I will be fine," Amora couldn't remove all of the venom from her tone as she sighed heavily. "I just want to be alone right now, okay?"

"What happened?" Harry urged, grabbing her hand. "Did someone say something?"

"For Merlin's sake, Harry!" Amora cried, tugging her hand out of his weak grasp. "I told you I wanted to be alone! What part of that are you struggling to comprehend?"

Harry looked taken aback, hurt even, as he took a step back. He watched as Amora scoffed at him, looking like she wanted to apologise for a second, but her eyes filled with tears and she took off in the direction of where the yellow house resided. He was dumbfounded, turning around to head towards the hall after Ron and Hermione.

Draco Malfoy stood at the entrance doors, leaning against the wall with his arms folded and a vicious smirk on his face, green eyes glittering. Harry glared as Draco pushed himself up from the wall, burying his hands into the pockets of his green robes as he sent Harry a small shrug.

"What's that all about?" He teased.

Harry said nothing but shoved Draco's shoulder with his own, storming towards the Great Hall. However, when he turned, Draco wasn't snickering at him like he expected, but already gone.

D.M + A.B

"Amora?"

She turned from where she was facing the wall of barrels, about to tap her wand to the usual rhythm on the correct one, her heart thumping at the sight of Draco. He looked worried, brows furrowed as he moved forward. Amora met him halfway down the hall, his hand grabbing her jaw and lifting her face to meet her eye. Her hand grasped his wrist weakly, his touch freezing yet burning her skin simultaneously.

"What happened?" He demanded.

"They were all pissing me off," Amora admitted, "Saying it was you that attacked me."

"They don't know what the fuck they're talking about," Draco snapped, his large hand trailing down her jaw to her neck. "You know I would never do that."

She felt the cold metal of his ring press against her skin as he lightly placed his fingers there, backing her against the wall. There was nothing aggressive about the way he kissed her though. His lips were soft and tender against hers. It was like he was trying to kiss her in replacement for the words he wished he could get out but couldn't. Amora hoped one day he would be able to talk to her properly.

His breath fanned her face as they pulled away. Amora's hand stroked up his cloak and she tugged at his sleeve, bringing him closer so she was even more sandwiched against the wall, his intoxicating scent filling her nostrils. It calmed her in a different way to what Leon's smell did. She felt safe now, like nothing any of her Hufflepuff friends said could ever hurt her. Not when Draco was this close.

It scared her how fast and hard she had fallen for somebody that she swore to hate merely months ago.

"Pansy told me a lot of people have been saying it," Amora said, watching as Draco's face hardened. "Is that true?"

"It is," Draco huffed, running his fingers through the hair that was sprawled in front of Amora's face, tucking it behind her ear and stroking it. "Saint Potter and your friend Holloway were going on about it yesterday. Zabini told me they were saying it was probably me to Longbottom and that lot."

Amora found herself frowning. She'd specifically told the two of them that she knew it wasn't Draco, that not only did she have a feeling but she personally knew, and they had still gone around, spreading harmful assumptions. Draco smoothed the frown lines on her forehead out with his fingers as the rest of his hand stroked through her hair, dragging her attention away from her thoughts.

"I'm sorry," Amora blurted, "I told them it wasn't you, but they never listen."

"It doesn't matter," Draco grumbled, "You know it wasn't me, so no other opinions matter. So long as the stupid rumour doesn't get out to Dumbledore and my father doesn't have to get involved."

Amora shuddered at the idea. Lucius Malfoy was quite terrifying.

They heard laughter echo around the corner and Amora flinched away from Draco's hand. He leaned down to press a kiss to her forehead.

"Sleep well," he said, glancing over his shoulder one more time and heading down the hall, pulling his cloak over his head to hide the back of his platinum hair from the second year Hufflepuffs arriving back to the Common Room.

"Hi, Amora," they all greeted her sweetly.

"Hi, girls," Amora replied absentmindedly, forcing a small smile as she watched Draco's figure finally disappear around the corner.

She could get used to this Draco. 

D.M + A.B

A week had passed since Amora had blown up on Zacharias in front of the Hufflepuffs, but word had spread because of it that Draco was innocent. In public, they acted as though they meant nothing to each other, sometimes exchanging small nods and only ever talking about the work during Defence Against the Dark Arts, however, as soon as the dark blanket of stars fell over Hogwarts, they were roaming the halls with one another, hiding in the shadows and kissing on top of the Astronomy Tower.

It was a wonder that nobody had caught onto them yet. Kathy was so wrapped up in Leon that she barely noticed Amora sneaking in and out of the dormitory. Most of her friends were more worried about looking out for whoever had attacked her. Amora was concerned about it too, but the worry had faded more into the back of her mind as time slowly crept by.

People had stopped talking about it as much now. Nobody really cared much anymore. There were bigger things to talk about, like the fact that Barty Crouch's body had turned up dead inside the Forbidden Forest. Amora had shuddered when she found out about it, especially since Harry, Ron, and Hermione had been the ones to stumble upon him whilst out with Hagrid.

That's why she was so surprised to hear her name being hissed whilst she was sat in the library, studying and minding her own business. She heard girly whispers as she stood from her table, heading over to one of the book shelves and pressing her ear against it in order to listen to the students talking about her.

"Shh!" She heard a familiar hiss. "Somebody might hear you."

"I'm sorry, Ginny, but I need you to promise me. You need me to promise that you didn't do it."

"I didn't do it!" Ginny cried, making Amora frown. "Why would I hurt Amora?"

"Because you're jealous of her," the other girl whispered in response. "You told me you hated her a couple of weeks ago because she kissed Harry under the mistletoe and you think he's in love with her!"

"I can't believe you'd accuse me of hurting her," Ginny replied, "I didn't mean it when I said I hated her! I was angry and upset--"

"Okay, okay," the other girl cut her off. "I was just scared that it really had been you."

"Eavesdropping, Miss Buckley?"

Amora jumped, her heart already pounding loud from Ginny's conversation as her eyes landed on Professor Moody. The man's magic eye twirled into the back of his head as students walked behind him, into another aisle. Amora stared at him uncomfortably, grabbing the closest book to her right and shaking her head.

"Just browsing, sir," Amora lied, glancing down and realising she had selected an Arithmancy book-- a class in which Amora didn't even take.

Moody freaked her out. He had ever since his introductory lesson to Defence Against the Dark Arts, where he'd performed all three of the Forbidden Curses. She hated his magical eye, too. She never knew where it was looking or what it could truly see.

Moody adjusted himself on his staff, his nose, which had a chunk missing from it from his days as an Auror, scrunching up. "I see," he muttered, "That's good, then. I'd be worried if you were listening in on things that were none of your business."

Amora's heart started to pound harder and she nodded quickly, shoving the book back where it belonged. "Right. I should go..."

As she moved to walk past him and get back to her belongings, his hand pressed onto her shoulder and she froze, her breath hitching.

"Good luck," he said.

"What?" Amora whispered, horrified.

"With your Arithmancy exam," Moody replied, "I heard there's a test coming up."

"Oh, right," Amora swallowed and ducked out of his way. "Thank you, Professor."

Amora swiped her books back up and didn't look behind her until she was in the comfort of her Common Room. Something didn't feel right about that man.

....


	31. Chapter 31

Talk of Crouch's death replaced the gossip and rumours surrounding Amora's attack, but that didn't mean it was over for the brunette. It had been a week since, and tonight was the second time she had woken up from a traumatic nightmare, resulting in sweat trickling down the side of her skull and her heart hammering as if she had just run a marathon.

Tonight, after being thoroughly freaked out by Professor Moody in the library, she had experienced her worst one yet. A nightmare that bad hadn't occurred since the Whomping Willow incident last year.

This one had been so bad that Amora refused to go back to sleep, despite the fact that it was three in the morning and she had classes in a few hours. She trekked down into the Common Room, gulping down a glass of water and settling back into one of the armchairs.

It was so soft behind her, the pillows cushioning her shaking body, beckoning her into a land where she was drowning and drowning in icy water on a continuous loop. Amora had to lurch herself up a few times, even pinching her hand when her eyelids fluttered too far down. She couldn't fall back asleep-- not when she was so scared of it happening again.

The bad dream reminded her of the Whomping Willow, memories of the event accompanying her most recent trauma. In her dreams, she would be dragged back to the surface of the icy lake, only for Harry to leave her there. Withering and cold and practically lifeless on the floor, whilst Harry ran off to save someone else. Someone more important than her.

Three days ago, when Amora had awoken from her first nightmare, she had been unintentionally quite distant from the Golden Trio. Giving them blunt responses, making no plans to sit with them first at breakfast. She thought she had moved past the small grudge she held for them. After all, Harry had saved her life a week ago. Yet, for some reason, past feelings were all coming back.

Amora tugged the oversized tee she had worn to bed closer to her body. It had been one of her father's shirts that had somehow gotten mixed up with her luggage at the start of the second year, and Amora often found herself sleeping in it, even if they lacked the father-daughter relationship that she wanted. It was soft and it reminded her of her childhood, back when they were comfortable around each other and he used to chase her on the beach, tickling her sides until she cried from laughing, and sneaking her sweets before bed.

She wasn't really sure what happened. Her father was a reserved man. He rarely showed affection to his own wife, his daughter being no exception to his rule. Amora often assumed that he just didn't know how to talk to her. As she grew up, they shared nothing in common and her father became stricter and didn't know how to hug her or say goodnight properly anymore. She even considered herself closer to her Uncle Amos nowadays.

It hurt Amora, but she would never tell anyone. She loved her father, just like she loved her mother. She knew he must love her too, somewhere beneath his solemn exterior and lifeless eyes.

Thoughts of her father had nearly pulled Amora into another sleep. She pulled herself off of the armchair, ignoring the screams of her exhausted body to just find somewhere comfy-- anywhere-- to settle and rest.

Amora refused. She could go and find Madam Pomfrey and ask for some Dreamless Sleep Potion, but it was far too late into the night and she didn't want to be a burden.

Amora thought maybe some cold air might wake her up. She knew Filch and Mrs Norris mainly hung around the Gryffindor Tower these days, waiting for a member of the Golden Trio to sneak out of their beds, so Amora thought she would probably be safe. Nevertheless, she tightened her wand in her grip and left the Common Room, instantly feeling the cooler air of the castle's corridors.

Amora headed up the staircase that led towards the foyer outside of the Great Hall, her heart nearly stopping when she heard footsteps. The brunette pressed her body against the wall next to her, flattening herself out against it as she waited for them to pass. Amora's heart dropped at the realisation that they were heading for the staircase she was on.

As the footsteps grew closer, Amora tried backing down them silently, her entire body tensing when she heard the person pause at the top. Amora dared herself to glance over her shoulder, her entire body shuddering in relief upon finding that it was Leon.

"Leon?"

"Amora?"

The pair of best friends stared at each other for a few moments before Amora did a small jog up to the top where he was. Leon grabbed her arm and pulled her towards the wall so they wouldn't be caught in the middle of the room.

"Where are you going?" Leon glanced her up and down. Amora would have noticed that he was eyeing her up rather suspiciously if she wasn't in utter relief that she wasn't about to receive a detention from Flich.

"To clear my head," Amora replied, "Go outside."

It was something Amora did maybe once a month or so, and Leon knew that. Especially when she first arrived at Hogwarts. Finding out that the Hufflepuff dormitories were in a basement was a little disheartening, considering Amora spent most of her life outside on a beach or at least looking out the window, bathing in the fresh, salty air. She wasn't used to it like Leon was used to his cramped flat in London with polluted air.

"Oh." Leon raised a brow.

"What are you doing out of bed?" Amora frowned.

Leon's neck became a home for hot red splotches as he grew embarrassed. "Nothing," he said quickly. "Just... Clearing my head. Like you."

"Oh," Amora repeated him from earlier, not in the mood to derive a real reason out of him. "Okay."

"Your eyes are red," Leon realised.

"Yeah," she shrugged. "Nightmare."

"You should see Madam Pomfrey about those--"

"They'll leave naturally," Amora interjected, using both hands to tuck her hair behind her ears. "I just want to be alone right now."

"You've been saying that a rather lot recently."

"It's what's best for me."

"How can you be so sure?" Leon raised a brow. "Maybe what you need right now is the support and unconditional love of your friends, or a shoulder to cry on."

Leon knew fully that if Amora was going to cry on a shoulder, it wouldn't be his. They weren't like that with each other. They didn't cry with one another or talk about relationships, especially as they grew older. This year they had spent more time apart than ever, what with Leon now having Kathy and Amora... Being quite distant with all of her friends, actually. It was strange, but both had just pinned it on the natural factor called growing up.

Besides, Amora was terrified that the unconditional love Leon spoke about wasn't as unconditional as either of them thought. If he were to find out that Draco Malfoy was her boyfriend and that she had kept their rendezvous from him for months, then she wasn't too sure he would be able to look at her the same anymore.

Part of her wouldn't blame him, but she hoped that when the day came, if it ever came, then Leon would hear her out. She was pretty sure Harry wouldn't. Definitely not Ron. Hermione would definitely at least listen before drawing conclusions-- Kathy too.

"I think I know what I need," Amora swallowed, brushing past him softly.

"Where are you going?" He asked although it came out fiercer than either of them had expected.

Amora turned, her brown eyes narrowing in confusion. "Why?

"Are you going to see someone?"

His question was like a bucket of cold water over her head. Her facial expression didn't change, but she felt like a cupboard door had just been yanked open to reveal her hands in Draco Malfoy's hair whilst he assaulted her neck with his lips. She hadn't even made plans to go and see Draco tonight though.

"No," Amora squeaked.

"Are you sure?" Leon pushed.

"I said I wanted to be alone!" Amora snapped suddenly. "Are you completely thick, Leon? That means I would be by myself."

Leon said nothing and Amora took that as her cue to leave. As she moved through the corridors, Amora felt her heart clench. She'd been so aggravated with her friends recently, and it wasn't putting her in any better mood than it was putting them in. She wasn't even sure if they had noticed that she had been acting this way, but if they had then they hadn't mentioned it to her yet.

As she moved through the castle, Amora froze when she saw Theodore Nott and a Ravenclaw girl by the window. He kissed her lips before she left, heading in the opposite direction of where Amora had frozen from the shock of bumping into yet another person in the middle of the night. Theo turned as if he had sensed her presence, sending her a small smile and a nod.

"Buckley," he greeted before walking past her, his hands in his pockets as he casually made his way towards the Slytherin dungeons.

Amora made her way to the top of the Astronomy Tower. Despite her fear of heights, she had good feelings attached to the place. She'd had her less-than-perfect first kiss here, and it was where Draco would take her when they wanted privacy, considering most students had warmer places to be in the winter months.

The cold woke her up immediately as she sat down on the wood, hugging her arms together. April was coming tomorrow, and Amora hoped it defrosted the school and hopefully helped to raise her spirits. She looked out at the pitch-black sky, watching the stars that twinkled above, competing with Hogwarts own lighting. Whilst most windows were as dull as the sky, a few windows dotted about were candle-lit, and Amora took comfort in the realisation that other people must be awake in the dead of the night too. That all the people in those windows had lives just as intricate and complicated as her own.

She wasn't sure how long she was sat there for, all she knew was that when she heard the hatch door open, she was screwed. No way would she get lucky for the third time. She sighed, expecting to turn and find Snape or somebody else equally as terrifying standing there, but her breath hitched in her throat at the sight of Draco.

The blond boy's skin was paler than ever thanks to the months of being cooped up in the castle or beneath a sky that was covered in thick grey clouds, but Amora decided it suited him. His features all seemed to blend together handsomely, his silver eyes striking and glittering as they harshly contrasted the black robes that he was wearing, and the other one that he had in his hand.

"Amora Buckley," Draco tutted, "Are you aware it's past three in the morning? You're lucky I haven't been chosen for prefect yet, otherwise, I'm afraid I would have had to of given you detention."

For what felt like the first time in a couple of days, Amora smiled. It felt foreign on her face to lift her muscles in such a way, a way where she wasn't forcing it weakly to get her friends off her back.

She realised that he was wearing his silk green pyjamas beneath his school robe as he sat down on the wooden floor beside her, extending his hand and handing her what she assumed was one of his spare robes. Amora accepted it as he folded his legs, their knees brushing through their pyjamas.

She felt slightly embarrassed sat next to him now, sat in nothing but one of her father's old shirts and a pair of baggy pyjama bottoms that she'd had for over two years now. He looked so expensive sat beside her. His pyjamas most likely cost more than her usual day-to-day outfits. She would be lying if she said that she didn't find Draco's lifestyle intimidating.

Amora shrugged on the Slytherin robe. She was thankful to be warmed up and to shield her boyfriend from the mismatched pyjamas she wore.

Draco's lips quirked up at the sight, his hand extending to adjust it so that the green was clearly visible on top of her body. Amora glanced down at herself as he did so, her hand moving to brush against the Slytherin crest.

"How do I look?" Amora teased quietly, though Draco picked up on the fact that her voice sounded duller than usual-- her entire being felt off.

"Like it was a shame you weren't sorted into Slytherin," Draco joked back, his voice barely above a murmur, but deep and scratchy.

Amora realised he'd been asleep. His hair was messier than usual, appearing nearly wavy around his face, and his eyes had small bags beneath them.

"How did you know I would be here?" Amora asked.

"Nott," Draco replied, "He woke me and told me you looked... sad."

Amora's brown eyes widened a little bit. "Theo? Why would he..." Her brows shot up in realisation.

"Only he and Zabini know," Draco sighed, "Zabini had been suspecting my feelings for you for a while now and Nott pieced it together from the way I've snuck out twice this week already to see you. But they're the only ones. We can trust them, I'm sure of it."

"Pansy knows too," Amora mumbled.

"Parkinson?" Draco repeated in disbelief. "As in, she knows we're official?"

Draco knew that Pansy knew they had feelings for each other, which he considered dangerous since their parents were friends, and one slip of the tongue from the Parkinson girl could have Lucius forbidding Draco from ever speaking to Amora again. However, he had not known just how much Pansy knew.

"Yeah," Amora admitted, "We're friends... kind of."

"Look at you," Draco teased, "It seems you've become somewhat of an honorary Slytherin."

"I have the robe to prove it," Amora played along half-heartedly. "I'm pretty sure I'd be the worst Slytherin in the world though."

Draco's face fell a little when he remembered how worried he had been about her. "Besides that, what's going on?"

"Nothing. Nothing bad. Just... a nightmare."

Amora had mentioned that she'd had a nightmare to him three nights ago when they met up before curfew, but it dawned on Draco then that these nightmares weren't as small and silly as she had initially made them out to be. The dark circles around her brown eyes proved it.

"What are they about?"

"Drowning," Amora said, "And the Whomping Willow sometimes. Harry leaving me there to just... die, I guess."

Draco went silent as he thought. Amora didn't mind the silence. She liked to just sit beside him and get her words out. She hadn't told any of her friends about the Whomping Willow part. As much as it irked her sometimes, she didn't really want Harry, Ron, and Hermione to feel guilty about the incident. It wasn't in her nature to do so.

"Sounds like you have unresolved conflict," Draco said, "Did you ever tell your... friends how them leaving you there made you feel?"

"No," Amora admitted, suddenly mad at her past self. She had so much she could have said. "I mean, they apologised when Ron was taken to the Hospital Wing after me, but they seemed so worried about other things and apologetic that I just... I don't know, I didn't want to make them feel bad because it would just make me feel worse too."

Draco's face hardened slightly.

"In a way... Maybe I am still mad at them because I never said what I truly thought," Amora whispered, smoothing out the soft material of Draco's robe that she wore.

"And what did you truly think?"

"That they didn't care about me," Amora suddenly choked on her words and Draco glanced at her wearily, unsure whether or not to wrap his arms around her. "L-Like what you said after Madam Pomfrey healed my arm. That they had higher priorities than me... and I thought they were... complete arseholes for just leaving me there when I tried to help!"

Amora took a deep breath before any tears could fall. Draco watched her close her eyes and compose herself. In a matter of seconds, her eyes peeled back open and her brown eyes no longer shone with sadness but were dull and miserable.

"You should tell them," Draco said.

"No!" Amora exclaimed, "That was last year. It's old news and I... already told them it was fine."

"You let them walk over you, Amora. You accepted their apology far too easily when you should have made them beg for your forgiveness."

Amora went silent again as she considered Draco's words. His Slytherin self-preservation was something that perhaps she could learn from. Often, Amora liked to believe that she was kind and thoughtful so she didn't need to change her ways, but maybe if it was making her weak then she needed to think again.

"I'm not normally a push-over," Amora admitted, "It's just when it comes to the people I care about... I'd rather that they were happy than me."

There came her Hufflepuff loyalty. A true curse sometimes, especially when your loyalties lied with somebody else rather than yourself.

"You shouldn't tell people that," Draco said firmly, "They'll use it against you."

Amora frowned. "But you're...." She blushed a little. "You're my boyfriend. I know you wouldn't use it against me."

The corner of Draco's mouth lifted a little as he nodded, sighing a little and reaching forward hesitantly to grab her hand in her lap.

Draco realised that he was just trying to help her, to protect her from being harmed again in the future, but he was starting to sound like his father, giving her lessons every Malfoy heir would go through before they could even pick up a wand. Draco wasn't exactly sure how else to help.

"I could hex them," Draco offered.

"No," Amora snorted, shaking her head and leaning it against his arm. "No. I think... I don't know. I just want the nightmares to stop."

"Madam Pomfrey could get you some Dreamless Sleeping Potion," Draco suggested, his finger tracing up and down the back of her hand and reaching a ring he had never seen on her before. It was beaded and had a small green jewel in the middle-- peridot. "Unless you'd rather hex them yourself?"

"No hexing of anyone," the brunette demanded, "But you are right that maybe I have some unresolved conflict that's triggering the Whomping Willow nightmares. Perhaps I should write Harry a letter. Tell him how it's been upsetting me recently."

"That's one way of handling it, I suppose...." He sighed, fiddling with her ring. "This is new."

Amora glanced down at it. "Yes. My mother gave me it the other day. Peridot is my birthstone."

"No, I think the gemstone is green is for Slytherin," Draco grinned, teeth and all as he watched her eyes roll playfully.

"Hm, well what are the yellow teeth for? Hufflepuff?" Amora played along with just as much fire.

Draco didn't take it as a joke. His grin faded and he scowled at her a little, but Amora instantly offered him a 'sorry' smile, making her brown eyes appear wide and innocent. It worked, Draco's anger fading as quickly as it came as his shoulders sagged and he sighed in defeat, unable to stay angry at her.

"I was joking," she murmured, maintaining her playful smile and wondering when Draco had managed to make her feel better. "Your teeth are perfect."

"I know," he muttered, grabbing her jaw and planting a kiss to her forehead. "You're annoying."

Amora beamed, feeling his arms wrap around her as she was pulled into a hug. "Yeah, yeah. I like you too, Malfoy."

She felt him smile against her neck.

When Amora retreated back to her dormitory half an hour later, she only had a few hours before she had to wake again for breakfast, but she drifted off anyway, memorising how comforting Draco's arms had felt around her, and the solution that he had helped her come up with.

Still, Amora had another nightmare.

But this time, as her body was dragged to the surface and she shivered, crying out for Harry who took one look at her before leaving her there, she was saved by somebody else. Draco Malfoy.


	32. Chapter 32

Dear Harry, Ron, and Hermione,

Words cannot describe how much your friendship means to me. Often I feel like the luckiest girl in all of Hogwarts to be able to join you for breakfast and accompany you at Hogsmeade. You all inspire me to be braver and bring such colour to my life, and I want you to keep in mind these words as I tell you something else.

I have questions that I've been holding onto for about a year now. I haven't wanted to put too much on your plates, knowing how busy and stressed the three of you get, and I also haven't wanted you to feel guilty. That is not the intentions of this letter.

A friend of mine advised me to resolve conflicts I had in order to stop some nightmares I've recently been experiencing and I thought it was a good idea.

Maybe you can guess what I'm talking about, or maybe it doesn't cross your mind like it does mine. Probably not. Sorry, I'm rambling now. Trying to put off writing what I really wanted to say.

I was furious with the three of you when you left me under the Whomping Willow when I tried to help you all. I was so upset it made me sick to my stomach, and I'll admit I held a grudge for a few weeks after that, although, I'm sure the three of you didn't notice, considering you had other problems to attend to. I understand that part, I really do.

I'm not expecting anything from you, but I needed to get it off my chest that the three of you hurt me. Unintentionally, sure, but my emotional scars have yet to heal. Hopefully this letter will help them a little bit. It still annoys me sometimes to this day. I would have dropped everything if I had seen one of you hurt in an instant.

It hurts that you left somebody else to find my body whilst you ran off to solve something else. I don't know how long I must have been there, lying cold and beaten and unconscious before Hagrid found me and took me to Madam Pomfrey.

Even then, the only person to actually show any support was Draco Malfoy of all people—

"What are you writing?"

Amora jumped, groaning when her inkpot spilt all over the parchment she was writing on. She sheepishly glanced up at Ron who was, somehow, the first person down to breakfast that morning. She grabbed her letter and tucked into the pocket of her robe, out of the way of his curious eyes. 

"Homework," she lied.

"Wanna sit at the Gryffindor table today? No offence, but our lot are funnier than your lot—"

"I don't know," Amora admitted just as Hermione appeared behind him, a small smile on her face. "I've been up most of the night, tossing and turning. I'd prefer a quiet morning before classes if that's all right."

Hermione frowned. "Unable to sleep, Amora?"

"Amora's been having nightmares."

The brunette jumped as Leon appeared behind Amora, Kathy tucked under his arm. Kathy had insisted that Amora went to the Great Hall without her, wanting to wait around for her boyfriend. She sent Amora a wave and a smile as if they hadn't seen each other fifteen minutes ago. 

"Is that true, Amora?" Hermione's frown deepened as she sat down in front of Amora, concerned.

"Only two," she dismissed them bashfully. "Not a big deal."

Make them beg for your forgiveness. Draco's words cut through her and reminded her of how she should show herself some respect, and even demand it from them.

However, it was easier said than done. Especially when they weren't aware they'd done anything wrong. She considered suffering in silence like she had been doing.

"What about?" Kathy slid into the seat between Amora and Leon, touching her arm gently.

Amora peered down at her bowl of porridge, accompanied by her usual excessive amount of honey. Suddenly it was more interesting than any of her friends' faces.

"Drowning," she admitted quietly, "Harry leaving me there."

Ron stared incredulously, mouth full as he paused from cramming the Hufflepuff table's dry cereal into his mouth.

"Well, Harry would never do that," he exclaimed, voice muffled.

But he did. In fact, you did too, Ron.

"I know," she said quietly instead.

"Hush, Ronald," Hermione scolded him with a smack. "It doesn't matter if Amora's nightmares would never happen, they are obviously very traumatic and personal to her."

Amora's previous thoughts from her letter were confirmed. It seemed like her friends really had forgotten about the incident, or at least, it wasn't very memorable to them.

"Is that all that's plaguing your mind, though, Amora? We're worried about you," Leon said, "We've all noticed how off you've been lately. Is it because of your Slytherin friend?"

Amora's heart stopped. "Wha— What?"

Kathy sighed and nudged Leon. "Leon doesn't like you hanging around Pansy Parkinson. I've tried to tell him that he's not your father..."

The rest of Kathy's words were irrelevant to Amora's brain. All she could feel was the relief that they were talking about Pansy and not Draco. It was like another flood of realisation had hit her that she had to keep her relationship with Draco a secret for as long as possible because, even if his friends seemed accepting enough, she wasn't sure hers would be.

"Pansy?" She squeaked.

"I know you've been leaving the dorm to meet up with her," Leon said, and it dawned on her then that maybe he had been out and about last night trying to catch her in the act.

"No I haven't," Amora protested truthfully. "And I don't hang around her. We just talk sometimes. She's quite interesting company, actually."

"She's awful." Ron rolled his eyes. "I don't know how you do it. Yule with Zabini, talking with Parkinson. What's next? Eloping with Malfoy?"

Amora nearly choked on her own spit. Hermione smacked Ron again. 

"They're not as bad as you would think, if you got to know them," Amora claimed quietly, but she knew she was fighting a losing battle against the four of them— even if Hermione and Kathy were attempting to stay neutral.

"Doubt that," Ron muttered sourly.

Say something. Draco's voice was in her head, demanding and cold. Say something that actually means something.

"So..." Leon continued, eyeing her expectantly. "Is it Parkinson? Putting you in this mood?"

"No," Amora exclaimed, "It's just the nightmares. And now you, if you keep going on about Pansy."

Leon scowled slightly. "I'm looking out for you."

Hermione agreed, "Yes, Amora. We care about you. We don't want anything to happen to you, that's all."

How much could they possibly care if they left her there?

Her heart jumped as the voice from her nightmares did the thing it had been doing all week, bringing up the past and creating conflict in her head that reminded her why she should be in a sour mood with the Golden Trio.

"I'm going to take a walk," Amora blurted before she could say something she regretted.

Something she regretted meaning the truth. What she was really thinking. 

They watched her unsurely as she strode out of the Great Hall. Knowing that they were talking about her now filled her heart with a sense of urgency. She ducked out of the way of Harry as he headed down the stairs, escaping unnoticed. She hugged her robes close to her and breathed in and out as evenly as she could whilst feeling absolutely sick.

Familiar hands grabbed her shoulders and turned her. Silver eyes frowned at her. 

"I couldn't do it!" Amora huffed, distraught. "I'm so weak! I had so many chances to tell them, but I just couldn't—"

"You're not weak," Draco said, cutting her off.

"Would you call that particularly strong?" Amora sent him a pointed look. She knew for certain that if she was anybody else then he would have admitted she was weak.

"I'd say it's pretty selfless," Draco said, "And you kept yourself more reserved than I ever could. When I'm angry at someone, I don't hold back for their sake."

"You were watching?" Amora asked quietly. 

"Who else am I supposed to look at?" Draco mumbled, "Nott isn't particularly handsome in the mornings."

Amora's mouth twitched at his attempt to make her laugh. He'd also indirectly called her pretty, causing a blush to coat her cheeks. His words fluttered parts of memories inside her brain that she had nearly forgotten. Looking around to make sure the courtyard was empty, Amora grabbed Draco's wrist and pulled him closer to the walls.

"Draco... You know how you said you can't hold back when you're angry with someone?"

"Yes. I said that five seconds ago. I'd be worried if I didn't remember--"

Amora cut him off with a roll of the eyes. "Well... Was it really you? That did the Stinging Jinx on Crabbe and Goyle? And did you actually try hexing those third years nearly two weeks ago?"

Draco seemed to try and avoid her gaze. If Amora peered hard enough, she could swear that she saw the heat rising on his neck, trying to surpass his shirt and robes on his pale skin.

"Maybe," he replied vaguely.

"I'm assuming you saw that third year slap my arse, then?" Amora sighed, watching as Draco's jaw clenched. "I did have that covered, by the way. Until Snape turned up. And the whole Crabbe and Goyle thing... How did you even find out about that?"

"Well, they bragged about it to me," Draco said, his lips curling in disgust. "Thought I would be proud or something of the sort. Those two twats have a lot to learn. If you need to Langlock and do the Jelly-Legs Curse on someone whilst they're wandless in order to have the upperhand on them, then you must be a complete fool. They're an embarrassment, honestly."

Amora leaned up and adjusted his robe from where it had folded slightly. "Right," she smiled. "Well, it saved me getting my revenge, I guess."

Draco looked surprised. "You? Revenge?"

"Oh, I can be quite the petty one, Malfoy," Amora grinned teasingly. "And it sounds like you can be too, considering you also broke Goyle's nose after giving him the Stinging Jinx."

She'd linked the bruises on his knuckles that late December and early January to the supposed broken nose that Goyle had already. She was surprised-- it was unlike Draco to use anything but magic to hurt somebody, but she supposed he must have been furious.

"I like to get my point across," he stated firmly. "And I didn't know revenge was your style, Buckley. So, what were you planning? Some public humiliation... A Furnunculus or two?"

Amora gave him a sarcastic smile. "I didn't get that far. I woke up the next morning and found out that they'd already been dealt with."

"You're welcome," Draco whispered, eyes giving one last sweep of the empty courtyard, and then leaning down to press his lips to hers. 

D.M + A.B

"Are you all right, Amora?"

Amora peered up from her notes and forced a small smile at Harry. She brushed the curtain of brunette hair out of her line of vision and nodded a little bit. It had been a few days since she had walked out on her friends during breakfast, and she hadn't seen much of them. They seemed pretty wrapped up in a Crouch's death, especially Harry. She hadn't seen him at all actually.

She'd gotten better at not thinking about the Whomping Willow incident all over again whenever her eyes landed on them though. The Sleepless Dream Potions Draco had been sending to her had been doing wonders for her mind and mental health.

"Yeah," Amora jotted down a last-minute thought to her parchment. "You?"

"Alright, thanks," Harry replied, sliding into the seat beside her. "Apparently you've been having nightmares?"

"Yeah," Amora sighed, "Well, only two or three."

Harry frowned. "Dumbledore suspects that whoever killed Crouch was the same person to attack you that day on the lake. Ron, Hermione, and I are trying to work it out, we promise you, Amora. As soon as it's sorted, maybe your mind will be able to rest."

The brunette fiddled with the edge of her parchment, avoiding eye contact with the Potter boy. The library was as quiet as ever, only filled with the occasional hushed whispers of other students and books being juggled about, pages flipped. Harry had clearly come in to seek her out considering he didn't even have a bag on him, nor a book in his hand.

"Hopefully," Amora murmured back.

She definitely couldn't bring up the other situation when the Golden Trio was trying so desperately hard to figure out who had attacked her. Especially when they were dealing with problems of their own. They'd only just managed to get Hagrid to return back to Hogwarts after Rita Skeeter had exposed him for being a half-giant. Supposedly, Hermione had scolded Rita for it at Hogsmeade over the weekend, but Amora had opted to stay at the castle and missed it. Amora suspected Hermione might be Rita's next target now.

"Do you have any recollections of it yet?" Harry asked, "Anything in these nightmares you've been having that might hint towards it? Or maybe even anybody that has been acting mean towards you..."

"No," Amora said softly.

"And you really want to rule Malfoy out?" Harry questioned.

Amora shot him a quizzical look. "Why would Malfoy want to murder Crouch?"

Harry sighed. "I was talking about you being attacked."

"Well, if Dumbledore suspects both acts were carried out by the same person, then that makes no sense whatsoever," Amora replied, "But you know what has been playing on my mind recently?"

Harry frowned. "What?"

"Hear me out, alright? I get that this will sound slightly mad, but Professor Moody really creeped me out the other day at the library," Amora spoke quietly, glancing around as if he was going to pop up out of nowhere. "And every time I see him, I get this shiver down my spine like I can't actually trust him."

It was the green-eyed boy's turn to look at her nebulously. "Moody?" He repeated, "I get that he's slightly scary, Amora, but Dumbledore would never hire someone that he thought would hurt a student purposely. Besides, he's an Auror, Amora. And I trust him. He saved me before the second task when Snape and Filch nearly caught me outside after curfew."

The brunette blushed a little. "W-Well, I was just saying," she said, brushing him off. "I don't really get that feeling often. If anything, Leon would say I can be too trusting at times. I kept thinking maybe it was my subconscious trying to tell me something."

"I doubt it," Harry said firmly, "I don't think you've ever liked Moody though, right?"

"Not really," Amora admitted, "Not since he scared Neville and then completely abused his power by humiliating D- Malfoy in front of everybody."

"So maybe you're just biased," Harry suggested, "I think we can really trust Professor Moody, Amora. He's on our side, he helped me with the first task and everything. It was his idea for me to summon my broom."

Amora frowned, feeling a little disheartened but also relieved to find out that she had just been being too sceptical of her Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. It would make her next lesson with him a lot less awkward now that she didn't think he had tried to kill her anymore.

"I suppose you're right," she sighed as she folded up her homework, slipping it into her bag flung over the back of her chair. "You're right, anyway. I don't think Moody has any motive to kill Crouch."

"Malfoy's staring," Harry muttered lowly, so quiet that Amora nearly didn't hear him-- his lips barely even moved.

Amora's gaze flickered up, finding a pair of silver eyes staring at her. She went to offer him a smile immediately, her hand darting up to wave, but she quickly remembered her company and ran the hand through her locks, her lips twitching back into a natural frown. Draco tore his stare, returning it to a shelf of books in front of him.

"Probably that crush Hermione reckons he has on you," Harry muttered bitterly.

Amora's heart skipped and she released an awkward laugh. "Don't be so... ridiculous, Harry."

"I don't know. He looks like he wants to kill me."

"Malfoy always looks like that when he's near you."

"Even more than usual."

D.M + A.B

"'Mora, I have a question."

Amora nodded for Kathy to continue as the brunette placed the vial that had contained her Sleepless Dream Potion inside. It was now empty, the contents sliding down her throat to soon take effect when she decided to rest her head on her pillow and call it a night.

"Malfoy... Is there maybe something going on between the two of you?" Kathy asked somewhat nervously.

Brown eyes enlarged as she whipped around to face Kathy. "Pardon?"

"I mean, I think it's obvious he likes you, and I think maybe you've been sneaking off to see him some nights..." Kathy explained. "I won't be... mad at you, if that's what you think, Amora."

Amora hesitated before she strode to stand in front of Kathy. It was like the curly-haired blonde had offered her the chance to get it off of her chest, and Amora was all too willing to take it. 

"We're together," she admitted in a whisper, "Please, Kathy. Please don't tell Leon or Harry and Ron— not even Hermione can know."

Kathy's eyes were wide in shock. "Wha— Really!?"

"I know." Amora closed her eyes for a second. "I'm aware how... obscure this all sounds, and that our friends would literally hate me for this, but I've really fallen for him, Kathy. If I could stay away from him I would, but..."

"You can't because you care about him too much," Kathy mumbled in realisation. "Merlin, Amora, you're lucky I'm a hopeless romantic. I understand."

Amora breathed out a sigh of relief. "You knew I'd been sneaking out?"

"Yes," Kathy said, "Or rather, I knew you had been sneaking back in. I always heard you slipping your shoes back off. I... I may have told Leon. I was worried about you. I thought you were depressed or something."

Amora's eyes widened in realisation. How he'd been there when she'd snuck out for some fresh air a few days ago. He'd asked so many questions.

"Has Leon been following me?"

"No," Kathy said, much to her relief. "But he's been trying to find you some nights. I think he thought you were meeting up with Pansy Parkinson."

"That's what he said at breakfast the other day," Amora nodded. "Do you swear to me that you won't tell him?"

"I promise, Amora. But... they're all suspicious. They know something is going on with you. You're lucky Hermione's preoccupied with Skeeter and whatnot, otherwise no doubt would she have figured everything all out by now. When do you plan on telling them?"

"I don't know," Amora admitted painfully, moving back to sit on the edge of her bed. "The whole situation is a mess, I'm aware."

Kathy stood in front of the brunette and extended her arms. Amora felt them slide around her shoulders and pull her close, Amora's cheek pressing against the silk pyjama top Kathy wore. She closed her own arms around Kathy's waist.

"I still love you, Amora," Kathy said quietly, "I'm glad you could trust me."


	33. Chapter 33

A couple of weeks passed and April had brought sunshine to Hogwarts, much to Amora's relief. Even though her friends were swamped with trying to get Hermione's name out of Rita Skeeter's mouth, Amora, in herself, was feeling brighter than she had before. She'd stopped taking the Dreamless Sleep Potions last week and so far she'd had nothing but dreams with their usual amount of bizarreness.

"Hermione, don't listen to them," Amora sighed, grabbing the brunette and pulling her away from some older Slytherin girls who'd taunted her in the corridors. "Everybody who's important knows you aren't dating Harry."

"I'm not worried about that!" Hermione huffed as Kathy furrowed her brows from the other side of her. "It's annoying, but I'm more focused on the fact that Rita Skeeter seems to know all of these secrets even though she's been banned from the school grounds."

"Harry and Ron said nobody else had been around when Hagrid told Madam Maxime he was a half-giant," Kathy recalled.

"Exactly," Hermione said, "Just like nobody had been around when Viktor asked me to visit him over the summer— which had somehow ended up in her stupid article too."

Amora frowned softly. "It must be some sort of magic we don't know about."

"Or they're bugging the school," Kathy suggested.

"Bugging?" Amora repeated. This was not a Muggle-term her mother had taught her.

It sounded pretty cool.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "For goodness sake, Kathy! You're just as bad as Harry and Ron. Hogwarts: A History clearly states that any sort of Muggle technology does not work on school grounds!"

"Well, I forgot," Kathy grumbled bashfully.

"She's listening somehow," Hermione said, "and I'll get to the bottom of this. One way or another."

Hermione's words stuck with Amora for the next few days. She stressed that perhaps Hermione was actually right and that somehow Rita Skeeter was listening to people inside the walls of Hogwarts, attempting to find the juiciest scoops and ruin lives. Just like she'd tried to do with Hagrid and now Hermione— an innocent teenage girl.

Hermione told her that she'd received numerous pieces of hate mail and some had been sent as Howlers to the Gryffindor table, embarrassing the poor Granger girl in front of everybody during mealtimes.

No doubt if Rita Skeeter caught a whiff of Draco and Amora would she exploit it. Normally, people wouldn't care about a silly teenage relationship, only Draco was a Malfoy, and he Amora was the daughter of a Muggle Studies teacher— and their relationship was a secret from everybody.

The thought sent shivers down her spine. Amora flicked through her book from where she sat in her Herbology lesson, trying to find the page that Professor Sprout had instructed them to open to. She was surprised when a paper crane swiftly flew through the air and gently landed on top of her pages, unfolding itself delicately.

ASTRONOMY TOWER. 11.   
yours, DM.

He'd even gone to the effort of sketching out the tower, drawing some stars around the top. Amora found herself smiling as she folded it and secretly tucked it away into the pocket of her robe, making sure Neville didn't see from next to her. Luckily the boy was too entranced in his own work.

Amora waited until eleven that night. She was particularly frustrated when Susan seemed to be adamant on finishing some homework, her freckled nose stuck in her Charms work from that morning. Kathy was also awake still, silently reading for leisure under the dim light.

Thankfully, Susan called it a night pretty soon, nuzzling down into her pillow.

"I think I'm going to go study in the Common Room," Amora whispered to Kathy and anybody else who's ears may still be listening out. "I need to finish this Herbology assignment and I don't want to be a bother."

Kathy sent her a knowing look. "Of course, Amora. See you in a bit. Or not, if I'm already asleep."

Amora smiled mischievously back as she pulled her robe over her clothes and put her wand inside the pocket, stepping out. She moved down the hallway and into the Common Room, about to make it out of the door when she heard somebody clear their throat.

Leon stood there in his pyjamas, arms folded across his chest.

"Where are you going?" He demanded.

"Fresh air."

"It's ten to eleven."

"I'm well aware of that, thank you, Leon. Would you like to join me?" She figured the question would throw him off, stop him from assuming she was meeting somebody. Besides, he was in his pyjamas— no way would he accept.

Leon stared sceptically. "Where to?"

"Around."

"What's with the vague answers?"

"Nothing."

He furrowed his brows, permitting a teasing smile from Amora. It was obvious that she was frustrating him, and whilst she did want him off of her back, she had come to realise that by being rude to him, she was simply giving him more reasons to be suspicious of her increasing nightly walks. Leon could be overprotective at times and right now was not a good time.

"Did you see the stuff Pansy Parkinson said about Hermione in Rita Skeeter's article?" Leon asked, watching as Amora's face fell a little and she nodded. "You're not still friends with her, are you?"

"I've yet to discuss that with Pansy, but I'm not happy with her, no," Amora replied somewhat bitterly, recalling how furious she had been when she'd seen her Slytherin friend's quote. "Anyway, I wasn't meeting her. I was getting fresh air, like I said."

"Let me change really quick," Leon said, not missing the way that Amora's eyes widened slightly. 

He turned to head back down to his dormitory when Kathy appeared down the hall in her pyjamas. She smiled beamingly at Leon, leaning up to wrap her arms around his neck. Leon pecked her forehead.

"I'm going for a walk with Amora, Kath," he said softly.

"But Leon, I really want to just cuddle," Kathy sighed, pulling him in tighter and resting her head against his chest.

"But Amora--"

"It's okay, Leon," Amora cut in swiftly, "You should hang out with Kathy. Maybe tomorrow night we can go on that walk."

"Kathy--" Leon began, in a tone that suggested he was about to let her down.

"Leon," Kathy feined a small sniffle, "P-Please," she sucked in a breath, mimicking pulling herself together for a second. "Please. I've had a really bad day, and--"

Leon grasped her hands and pulled them gently away from her face she was now covering. "Kath... Kathy, what happened?"

"I'll leave you two to it, then," Amora murmured under her breath as she edged closer to the Common Room exit, sending Kathy a grateful smile as the door closed behind her.

She pulled her Hufflepuff robes closer to her body and headed for the Astronomy Tower where Draco had told her to meet him.

She was a mixture of excited and nervous; just as she always was to go and meet her boyfriend. It still felt odd calling him that, considering the years of rivalry they had shared beforehand.

He'd been going on for ages. Mocking Ron and Harry, embarrassing them in front of his Slytherin friends. As soon as Draco made a remark about them hanging around with "that Mudblood Granger", Amora swore all she could see was red. Her heart leapt in her chest and she didn't think much about her next moves, which was evident, because not many people would be brave enough to attack a Malfoy.

"Take that back!" Amora screeched, launching herself onto Draco.

The blond twelve-year-old looked horrified as he fell backwards into the snow, Amora grabbing him by the shoulders as she sat above him, face red with fury. Ron was trying hard not to laugh whilst Harry came up behind her, about to grab her off of Draco.

"You're a rude, horrible, disgusting little git, Draco Malfoy!" Amora yelled, shaking his shoulders.

"Hit 'er, Malfoy!" Crabbe cupped his hands over his mouth to yell.

"Don't let a girl beat you!" Someone called.

"Oh, punch him in the nose, 'Mora!" Ron cried.

But they weren't physically fighting-- not really. The two twelve-year-olds were wrestling for control over one another, Amora having the upper hand considering she had managed to pin him to the floor. Draco grabbed her arms, face scrunched up in horror. He refused to hit her though. His mother had raised him better than that.

"Get off of me, you stupid Blood-traitor!" Draco cried, voice slightly shaky as Amora grabbed snow from the ground next to them and threw it into his face. "Argh! Crabbe, Goyle, grab her off of me before she infects me or something!"

Before his two friends, who seemed far too large to be in the second year, could grab her, Harry and Ron moved forwards and grabbed her from underneath her arms, hauling her away. Amora huffed, puffing her hair out of her face as she watched Draco scramble back up onto his feet, glaring at the people laughing at him as his gelled back hair became less than perfect.

"You'll pay for that, Buckley," Draco spat.

"Oh, go cry to your father about it, Malfoy," Amora seethed back.

That had been the peak of their hatred for each other, and now, Amora looked back at it with a sort of fond smile as she found herself heading up the stairs of the Astronomy Tower. She pulled up the hatch and grinned when she saw Draco stood by the railing, his back to her but his distinct blond hair slightly flapping in the wind.

He clearly hadn't heard her come up, too busy staring at the stars to hear the soft click of the hatch door shutting behind her. Amora bit down on her lip to prevent her breaths from giving her away, tiptoeing closer. She was merely six feet behind him when she heard his low chuckle.

"Nice try," he said before he turned, leaning back and inspecting her. "Oh, don't look so disappointed to see me."

"You could have at least entertained me scaring you," Amora pouted, noticing that slowly but surely the night air was starting to get warmer with every meeting they held.

"You're five minutes late," Draco deadpanned, his expression not shifting.

For a few seconds, Amora believed that he was truly angry with her, the teasing smile fading from her lips as her brows furrowed. Then, Draco cracked one of the charming smiles that only a few people got to see. It made her smile too, the butterflies in her stomach fluttering as he extended his arm, his hand placing itself on her hip and pulling her closer.

Before he could lean down and connect their lips, Amora frowned, drifting away from him. Draco mimicked her reaction, icy eyes staring her down in a mixture of confusion and annoyance.

"What?" Draco muttered, lifting his hand to run it across his jaw.

"Have you seen the article that Rita Skeeter wrote about Hermione?" Amora asked, watching as Draco nodded. "Well, that woman's finding things out about people in Hogwarts somehow, and she's exposing everybody, so I was just thinking that... Well, maybe we should stop meeting up until it all blows over."

Draco appeared taken aback for a few seconds, nearly stumbling away from her. "What?" He demanded.

"I just don't want our parents and the entire school to find out via a trashy Rita Skeeter article inside the Daily Prophet, do you?" Amora sent him a pointed look.

"We don't have to worry about Skeeter," Draco said, his voice hesitant as he avoided her eye.

"What? Why?" Amora frowned.

"I've already... blackmailed her, to put it bluntly," Draco admitted, watching Amora's face contort nebulously. "Skeeter suspected there was something going on between the two of us when she interviewed me about Potter before the first trial. She asked if he was dating you or Granger, and I may have said something along the lines of you being too good for Potter... I shut that down before her magic bloody quill could jot it down, though."

Amora frowned, listening intently. "How, though? Skeeter reports on whatever she wants to. She would have had a field day speculating that you were dating the daughter of a Muggle Studies teacher."

"Well, let's just say I found out something about her that could get her into a great deal of trouble," Draco smirked, "And so long as she keeps the Malfoy name out of her rubbish articles, I will keep her secret to myself."

"So she doesn't actually know... but she suspects?" The brunette summarised.

"As far as Skeeter's concerned, a suspicion to her is enough for an entire story. But that was months ago now. She knows better than to snoop around my business," Draco said, "Especially when I give her some rather unique quotes about Potter."

"Oh, yeah, I meant to mention that to you," Amora scoffed before she whacked his arm. "Do you really have to embarrass him all the time?"

"Why?" Draco's eyes darkened slightly. "Why do you care?"

"He's my friend," Amora replied matter of factly. "Why do you care?"

"Because you're mine," the blond boy practically growled, grabbing her hips again and pulling her closer than before.

Their chests brushed as he leant down and pressed his lips to hers. Amora didn't hesitate as she wrapped her arms around Draco's neck, working her lips against his like two puzzle pieces being slotted together.

He was warm and soft, a large palm leaving her hip to smooth up the small of her back and push her even closer to him-- if that was even possible. Amora was fairly certain you couldn't fit a sheet of paper between their bodies at this point, his thigh slotting between her legs.

"Wait," Amora pulled away breathlessly, making Draco groan, his silver eyes only staring at her lips, waiting for her to shut up so he could kiss her again. "What secret do you have over Rita Skeeter?"

"If I told you, her deal would be off, would it not?" Draco replied, his hand wrapping into the hair at the back of her head. "And then she would go printing 'Draco Malfoy and Amora Buckley: Hogwarts' very own Romeo and Juliet.'"

Amora awed, brown eyes shining. "You think we're like Romeo and Juliet?" She cooed.

"That play was not a romance, Amora. It was a tragedy," Draco stated, "Just like this story of ours would be if my father ever caught a whiff of what's going on between us. How much I... Well, you know."

Amora's smile faltered a little. "Our story isn't a tragedy, is it?" Her voice was soft, scared of what Draco's answer might be.

"Not if we don't let it be," Draco said, hand trailing from her hair to the back of her neck.

The brunette stared at the blond's eyes as they flickered across her face. When copper met silver, she pulled him by the robe so their lips met one more time. Amora was consumed by Draco, drinking in everything she could get.

She knew with all her heart that she wouldn't let their story be a tragedy. She could already feel herself falling deeper and deeper for him. Amora knew she was on the verge of saying that she loved Draco, which scared her a little because she'd, obviously, never been in a relationship before.

"I won't," Draco murmured as he pulled away, earning a confused look from Amora. "I won't let it be."

D.M + A.B

May came around rapidly and the anticipation for the third task rose. Amora could feel the anxiety start to gnaw at her brain again, thoughts of Cedric or Harry being harmed bringing her genuine fear. Other than that and the end of year exams which were also happening, Amora was having quite a good time in general.

She met up with Draco two or three times a week, mostly at the Astronomy Tower, and she'd even gotten an apology out of Pansy for the things she said about Hermione to Rita Skeeter. On one of those nights, their evening had been inturrupted by Blaise and Theo, and whilst Draco was furious at first, he calmed after a while as he realised his girlfriend seemed to get along well with his best friends.

Leon continued being suspicious, but luckily, Kathy Redsoft was one of the best friends a girl could have. She distracted him with lies and kisses, helping Amora sneak out at night and covering whenever Leon invaded her privacy or Susan tried sticking her nose into things. Zena remained as oblivious as ever and Hannah had recently gotten into a relationship with Justin, so she couldn't care less.

"It's a maze," Cedric mumbled to Amora as he sat down next to her on one of the couches in the Common Room.

The brunette peered up, finding him staring at the fireplace in front of them with furrowed brows. "It's a maze," he repeated.

"What is?" Amora asked.

"The third task. Bagman just showed us all. The Quidditch field-- they're putting an entire maze on it, Amora. And they said we need to find the cup," Cedric huffed.

"That sounds too easy," Amora admitted with furrowed brows. "I'm assuming there will be... things inside the maze."

Cedric nodded.

"You're an amazing wizard, though, Cedric," Amora reassured him, squeezing his hand that rested on top of his lap. "You just need to practice all of the jinxes and hexes that you know, and you will be perfectly fine."

"I know." He ran a hand through his hair. "I just can't believe that this time next month... it will all be over. Just like that."

"Eternal glory means forever."

"Harry and I are tied first place. I doubt I'll beat him at this one," Cedric muttered, "he'll get Eternal Glory. I'll get second place, if I'm lucky."

"I believe in you, Cedric." She squeezed his hand again. "Don't tell Harry, but I'm rooting for you, okay?"

He managed a teasing grin. "I would hope so. I am your favourite cousin."

"You're also my only cousin, Cedric."

"Amora!" Kathy breathed as her eyes landed on the brunette, just having come from outside. She froze when she saw Cedric sitting beside her. "Um... someone is outside asking for you."

Amora blushed slightly, knowing exactly who that somebody was. She had let Draco know last month that Kathy knew about them, adding the blonde Hufflepuff to the very short list of people they could trust.

"Who?" Cedric frowned, confused. "Invite them in."

Hufflepuff weren't as strict as some of the other houses when it came to allowing other houses into their Common Rooms. Slytherin, for example, was the worst— the only way you could get in would be if you literally snuck in like Harry and Ron did in the second year. They'd made history in doing so.

"Oh, no, that's fine, Cedric," Amora blurted, scrambling to her feet. "I was heading out anyway."

Her cousin nodded. "All right. I'll talk to you later then."

"Yeah, see you later!"

Amora shot Kathy a look as she slid out of the Hufflepuff Common Room. Draco reached and grabbed her wrist, tugging her behind some barrels that were placed around.

"Just out of curiosity... how do you always remember exactly which barrel it is?" Draco questioned, recalling the way Kathy had nearly panicked when she'd gone to tap her wand against a different one.

Amora shrugged with a small smile. "Well, you just remember. If you do it wrong you get sprayed with vinegar, so there's that to motivate you to learn it."

Draco's brows rose. "That's... pretty cool."

He looked jealous for a few seconds, as if disappointed that Slytherin didn't have their own defenses. Amora lifted her finger to his lips when she heard the door slide open and people head down the corridor in the opposite direction. Luckily they were hidden behind the excessive amount of barrels. When they'd gone she removed her hand.

"What did you need?" She asked.

"I wanted to take you somewhere," Draco proposed.

"Where?"

"Well, it's a surprise."

Amora glanced at him suspiciously before she smiled. "Okay then."

Draco led Amora down some small slopes until they were on a patch of grass covered in daisies. Amora sighed in relief as she slumped down next to Draco on the slope, tucking her school skirt underneath her so the grass didn't tickle at her bare thighs. She tugged her knee socks up as Draco grabbed his tie, loosening it.

"It's boiling," Amora stated, grabbing a hair band off of her wrist and pulling her dark locks behind her head into a loose bun. She left the fronts to frame her face.

"I thought you liked this weather," Draco said, squinting his eyes as he peered up at the heavy blue sky.

"I do," Amora replied, "Not so much when I'm in school uniform though. It's too... confining."

"I wouldn't complain if you wanted to strip naked—"

"Draco!" Amora laughed, shaking her head in amusement. "I don't think that will be necessary. Maybe when June rolls around."

"Remind me not to break up with you before June then."

"Ha ha." Amora rolled her eyes. "Has anybody ever told you that you're the funniest person at this entire school?"

"Hm..." Draco pretended to think for a moment. "I've heard most handsome, rich, clever... Oh, yes, I have heard funny too."

Amora continued to shake her head at him. She reached out and brushed some of his blond hair off of his forehead, planting a swift flick there. Draco recoiled and sent her a glare.

"Want me to kiss it better?" She teased.

"I wouldn't protest."

Amora planted a soft peck to the pale skin she had flicked before, wondering how he had managed to stay the colour of paper whilst her skin had reacted to the sun as soon as it rose on the first day of spring. Now, she looked as though she had more of a healthy glow to her.

"I bought you something," Draco said as he reached into his bag that had been flung on the other side of him.

Amora frowned. "Draco, you shouldn't have—"

"Hush, none of that," he warned, pulling out a leather-bound golden book with a small badger stitched into the bottom. "Open it."

The brunette skimmed her hand over the cover before she delicately opened her brand new present. The first page had '24.12.94' scribbled at the top, and taped to it was a small sketch. Amora gasped as she realised that it was her in her Yule Ball gown.

She flipped another page and Draco had written '23.03.95', followed by another sketch, but this time of the two of them kissing. That was the day that Amora had woken up in the Hospital Wing— also the day that Draco had officially told her that he was hers.

"It's cheesy," Draco blurted, "And I insisted you'd prefer a necklace or some other kind of jewel, but Blaise insisted you would like this better..."

Amora's cheeks were burning as she glanced back up at him. His pale skin was home to a similar blush as he bashfully scratched the back of his neck, avoiding her eyes.

"I do. I love this, Draco," Amora promised him, diving forwards and wrapping her arms around his neck.

She felt Draco smile against the nape of her neck as he landed on the soft grass behind him, Amora on top. His arms wrapped around her middle until she pulled back to give him a short, hard kiss on the lips.

"I..." Amora's eyes widened when she realised what she was going to say. "This is perfect," she finished instead, thankful that her brain had managed to catch up with her mouth just in time.

"I'm glad," Draco said, shifting to sit slightly behind Amora, his arm supporting his weight as he looked at the book from over her shoulder, peppering sweet kisses along her neck and shoulder. 

He watched Amora grab a pencil that had rolled out of his open back and onto the ground, her neat handwriting scribbling out "18.05.96". It was only when he saw the date did he realise how much time had gone by. In a few months, it would be a whole year since he was locked in the library with Amora.

She plucked a daisy from the ground and grabbed her wand, enchanting the stem to stick to the paper. Draco watched curiously as she sketched trees at the bottom of the page, quickly realising that they were the same trees they were facing in their hill as his chin rested on her shoulder.

"Let me draw you," Amora insisted.

Draco's face scrunched up. "I don't know."

"Or let me take a picture of you."

"Do you even have a camera?"

"In my dorm room," Amora replied, "Only a small one. I'll remember to bring it next time. We can't be dating for nearly two months and have no photographic evidence of it."

"Fair enough," the blond-haired boy replied before he smirked. "Come to think of it, that is a rather good idea. I think a picture of me on your bedside table would look rather good, wouldn't it?"

"You're feeling awfully cocky today, aren't you, Malfoy?"

Their smiles were beaming as they moved in to connect their lips, but immediately wiped off and replaced with looks of complete and utter horror.

"Amora Elle Buckley!"

Cedric was storming down the fields, and he did not look one bit pleased.


	34. Chapter 34

Amora was sure that her heart had just stopped in its ribcage. She'd never lurched away from Draco so fast, her arms and feet scrambling to put some space between her and the Slytherin boy. Her cheeks felt like they were on fire as she began to stammer, attempting to find some sort of excuse whilst her cousin marched closer and closer. The brunette clambered to her feet and Draco copied her, watching as she nearly tripped over the book he'd just given her.

"What the hell is going on?" Cedric seethed as he stopped right in front of them, glaring between his younger cousin and Draco Malfoy of all people. "Well, Amora?" He snapped when nobody said anything.

"What's going on... is..." Amora's brown eyes darted around for inspiration, but her mouth was drier than the desert and her brain was juggling more thoughts than ever. "Is..."

"You and Malfoy?" Cedric spat, glancing over his shoulder to make sure that nobody was around as he stepped closer to the teenage girl. "Amora, are you aware of who he is? Who his family is?"

Draco's lip curled as he fought not to make a remark. He forced his brain to remind itself that Cedric was sort of right. His family were prejudiced, of course, believing the kind of things that no doubt Amora and Cedric had been taught to ignore and hate. He kept quiet for the sake of Amora.

"Cedric..." Amora's voice came out low and slightly wobbly. "I know what you're probably thinking... That I must be insane, but this isn't a sudden thing--"

"You mean this has been going on for a long time?" The older Hufflepuff's eyes bulged and he looked as though he was on the verge of a heart attack, unable to believe his ears. "How long? How long, Amora?"

"If you must know, we have been official for over a month now," Draco said, Amora's eyes snapping to him as she silently pleaded for him to be quiet. "And... I actually like your cousin, Diggory."

"Like you really believe that, Amora?" Cedric cried, sending a fierce look to Draco. "He's using you! To make Harry angry because everybody knows Potter has heart eyes for you--"

"Stop! Stop it!" Amora smacked his hands away from her as Cedric attempted to grab her and drag her away from Draco. "I am sick and tired of people saying that. Cedric, I'm sorry, I really am, but I like Draco. I know that mum will be upset, and all of my friends, but I can't stop the way that I feel--"

"This is insane," he hissed, lowering his voice as he bent to look Amora right in the eye. "You're insane!"

"Let go of me," Amora hissed back, looking down at the grip that he now had on her wrist.

Cedric didn't listen but instead tugged her harder towards the castle. "Come on. We're going to tell Auntie Elle before Malfoy manages to ruin your entire life--"

Amora desperately began to try and pry his fingers off of her skin, her expression one of horror as she gasped and kept her feet stationary on the grassy slope. She winced as his grasp pulled at her arm.

"She told you to let go, Diggory," Draco spat boldly.

Amora took Cedric's surprise as an escape, ripping her wrist from his grasp. Cedric glanced between them, clearly furious with an unknown glint in his eye. The Buckley girl had never seen her cousin so angry, especially not with her. Her heart hammered and tears collected in the corners of her eyes, terrified that she was about to lose him.

"Cedric," Amora gasped desperately, "I'm not insane. I know him, I know him better than you do. Please. Please don't tell my mum. He makes me happy."

A look dawned on Cedric and he took a step back, finger-pointing between them. "Malfoy is the boy you told me about nearly two months ago! How can he make you happy when he hurt you that bad?"

Draco's face scrunched up and he glanced to Amora and then back at his shoes, silent. Guilt swarmed him and it wasn't a great feeling at all. It made him feel sick to his stomach. He'd treated Amora quite poorly merely months ago, he knew it, but it was because he'd been scared. Draco knew it was no excuse, especially hearing that he'd actually hurt her that bad. She'd covered it up well.

"Things have... changed," Amora spoke truthfully, "Draco isn't a bad person, Cedric--" she ignored his scoff. "He's not when it comes to me. He checks up on me when I have arguments with my friends, a-and he jinxed Crabbe and Goyle when they hurt me--"

"Crabbe and Goyle hurt you?" Cedric huffed before shaking his head. "No, Amora, his father is Lucius Malfoy, the same man that has been trying to get rid of Auntie Elle for years--"

"Well, I'm not dating his father, am I?" Amora remarked. "Can you not just calm down and consider what I'm trying to tell you? We should talk about this rationally before you jump to conclusions! I'll answer any question you have truthfully, and you'll realise how genuine this is."

Cedric's jaw clenched.

"Please?" Her eyes shone pleadingly.

"Fine. But not right now, Amora. I can't stand to talk right now," Cedric spat finally, glaring at his younger cousin as she nodded. "And I'll keep what I know to myself for now, but don't be surprised if your mother comes banging on the door in the future because she finds out you're dating a Malfoy."

Amora kept her mouth shut but she heard Draco release a breath through his nose. They watched Cedric send them another warning glare before he began to storm back up the small slope, his figure disappearing. Amora lifted her hands to her face, shaking her head as she exhaled shakily. Draco moved to stand beside her, gently grasping her wrists and pulling them away so that he could see her face.

"I'm sorry," she shuddered, somewhat embarrassed.

Draco replied, "I didn't realise anybody would be around. I thought everybody would be grabbing dinner in the Great Hall by now."

"It's not your fault," Amora mumbled, sighing as she glanced back to where her cousin disappeared to. "I... Hopefully Cedric will come around. I've never seen him so... furious before. He usually has a soft spot for me."

"Well, that's why he's so angry then," Draco said, "because you're dating a Malfoy," he mimicked Cedric's disgusted tone.

Amora sent him a small look and he pursed her lips, silver eyes darting to the ground where the book was. He grasped it and also the pencil, holding it out to her. He didn't like this new tension. Draco wasn't good at comforting people, he'd never actually done it before, so he decided maybe distracting her would be best.

"Draw me," he proposed, despite the fact that he had been arguing against it before.

The rise of Amora's brows told Draco everything he needed to know. She wasn't in the mood anymore. He watched as she took the book from his weak grip and gently slipped down onto the grassy slope. The grass was slightly dry from the British sun, nearly a golden colour beneath her school uniform as her skirt pooled around her thighs, home to some stray strands.

Draco followed her, sitting down next to her as he watched the sun start to head for the trees in the distance. Within the next hour or two, it would most likely start to set. This was the time of day in the summer that Draco didn't mind much; as their air started to cool and people began to settle down.

He watched Amora sketch his head shape out, but his attempt to distract her hadn't seemed to work very well. Frown lines were deep on her face and her tongue not poking out slightly in concentration like he noticed it usually did in Defence Against the Dark Arts.

She was still clearly dwelling on Cedric and everything that had just happened.

"You said your bedroom overlooks the sea?" Draco recalled, watching Amora glance up at him and nod in surprise, slightly shocked he had remembered. "Mine overlooks fields sort of like this. I have a balcony, you see, and I like to sit on that when the weather's like it is now. I like to read on it as well. Mostly Wizarding classics, and even some Muggle classics from the library that my mother read as a child."

Amora looked impressed, a graceful smile overtaking her face. "I didn't know you liked to read."

"All the time," Draco replied with a small scoff. "The Manor has a library. You'd love it. I spend a lot of my summers inside it when I'm not practising Quidditch outside or having Zabini and Nott come to visit."

"I learn something new about you every day," Amora hummed, smiling at him when she glanced up from her work where she sketched his eyebrows.

Amora decided that she liked Draco's face for drawing. He had quite strong yet angelic features, his lips quite plump and his nose sturdy and straight on his pale wide heart-shaped face. Somehow, he even managed to look rich, his platinum hair falling on top of his forehead perfectly.

"Tell me something new about you."

The request was rather vague and Amora pondered what on earth she should tell him. She could tell him anything she wanted-- about her childhood, her favourite colour, maybe the time she was nine and got lost in Muggle London and was so scared that she accidentally started to perform magic.

"My father was in Ravenclaw," Amora said, unsure why she had even told him that fact out of all of them. "My mother's a Hufflepuff, as you obviously already know. I asked the Sorting Hat to be like my mother, though. I wanted Hufflepuff so badly."

Draco frowned for a few moments, taking the next few minutes of silence to realise that Amora had never really mentioned her father before, other than the time when they were locked in the library with one another and she told him that he was an Owlet Trainer.

He suddenly wanted to know more. The Buckleys were rather private people considering the fact that they were Purebloods. Mainly because Amora's mother disliked a lot of the other Pureblood families for obvious reasons, and some Pureblood families disliked her for the exact same reasons. Often, it was said that there were no greater Blood traitors than the Weasleys and the Buckleys, although the Buckleys were more of a recent thing, considering Professor Buckley had only taken up her position at Hogwarts seven years ago.

"Why didn't you want Ravenclaw?" Draco asked.

Amora shrugged. "Cedric was already in Hufflepuff, which was some of it, I suppose. That and, whilst I love my father, we're not actually that close. I don't think we've written to one another since... February?"

Draco frowned without thinking. "Why aren't you close?"

Amora sent him a half-smile, her eyes twinkling mischievously. "Bit of an invasive question, don't you think?"

"Fine, don't answer it then," Draco huffed stubbornly.

The brunette rolled her dark eyes. "It's because my father's got the emotional range of a... spoon. We don't have much in common at all really. He never used to be like it, though. We were close when I was younger, with my mother working full-time as a professor and all, but it's like as soon as I grew up..."

Draco was clinging onto every word, and he was sort of disappointed when Amora couldn't finish what she was trying to communicate to him. She was normally so good with her words and he wasn't that good at reading emotions on peoples' faces.

"It's whatever," she dismissed, sketching away. "I have my mother. And my friends. You."

The blond offered her a small smile. He felt the warm glow of the sun on his skin and listened to the slight scratching of a pencil against thick paper. Soon, Amora was finished. She flipped the book to show him.

"Amora..." Draco muttered in astonishment, gazing down at the book that had been shoved nervously into his hands. "You never told me you were so... exceptional at art."

"Oh, you like it?"

"It's really good," Draco said, thumb skimming over his face lightly.

She noticed that, unlike the portraits around his family home, Amora had drawn him with a smile. He hadn't been portrayed to look powerful and masculine, but rather he had a small smile on his face, and Amora had scribbled the flowers on the grass that he sat on.

Of course, it wasn't the most realistic sketch ever, considering the time she'd done it in, but Draco was sure that the resemblance was uncanny, even if he didn't really recognise himself with that kind of smile on his face.

"I'm glad you like it," Amora said as he gently closed the book and handed it back to her.

Draco grasped her hand before it could retreat. "We'll work this out," he said determinedly. "Your cousin will come around."

Amora's eyes flickered with something unrecognisable as the memories of half an hour ago came back. She shifted some of her hair behind her ears and sighed.

"I hope you're right, Draco."

D.M + A.B

Over the next couple of weeks, Kathy became a sort of diary to Amora who had been on the receiving end of a lot of dirty looks from Cedric. She tried to ignore the glares, but it was hard when they were so intense and often. Whenever she saw her mother, it was like dread had settled into the pit of her stomach as she waited for the woman to disown her or something of the sort. However, so far, it looked like Cedric hadn't mentioned it to Professor Buckley.

It was much easier to sneak away from the Golden Trio now that they were helping Harry practice spells for the third task-- a maze, like Cedric had told her. Kathy managed to keep Leon preoccupied most of the time, especially now that it was summer and the weather was no longer so cold and bitter.Amora was pretty sure they spent most of their time down by the lake together.

Amora smoothed through the pages of the leather book that Draco had gifted her at the start of the month. She had added two other pages since then; she'd used ink and pressed her hand onto one, and then Draco's onto another. He'd been reluctant to do so, claiming that it was cheesy and a waste of the pages inside, but Amora had liked the idea. She'd read about a couple doing it in a Muggle novel she'd read years ago.

Draco's birthday was quickly approaching, much to Amora's dismay. Usually she loved celebrating her friends' birthdays, but she had no idea what to get the boy who already had everything. Through passing notes to Blaise, Amora was able to figure out a time slot with him where she could whisk Draco away on the fifth of June and spend some time with him.

"Mr Holloway!" Snape sneered as Amora turned the corner, her eyes widening at the sight of her Potions' Professor gripping her best friend by the ear and jerking him out of his office. "Doing Potter's dirty work, were you?"

Amora gasped quietly and hid around the corner of the corridor, listening intently. She slipped her notebook back into the bag flung across her shoulder.

"N-No," Leon stammered, "I was just looking for you, Professor."

"Was it you that took the Gillyweed from my office? Perhaps some Polyjuice Potion too?" Snape continued, his beady eyes glaring down at Leon in a way that would have Amora close to tears if she had been on the receiving end.

"No, sir! No-- I know nothing about any Gillyweed or-- or Polyjuice Potion!" Leon swore as Professor Snape released his grip on the student. "Your door had been left ajar, I was simply trying to find you to ask a question."

"And what would that question be?"

"It-- It's about... Amortentia," Leon rambled, and Amora detected his lie instantly. "When- What year do we cover that again?"

"That would be in the sixth year, Mr Holloway..." Snape drawled, although Amora could tell that he most likely didn't quite believe Leon either. "Is that all you broke into my office to ask me?"

"Your door was op..." Leon trailed off at the unimpressed look on Professor Snape's face. "Yes, sir. Sorry, sir."

As Leon came around the corner Amora was hiding behind, she reached out and grabbed the arm of his robe, making him jump. His wide brown eyes barely relaxed at the sight of her, in fact, he almost looked even more startled. He seemed to jerk nervously, scratching the back of his neck.

"What was that all about?" Amora asked curiously.

"I just... Had a question," Leon shrugged nervously, "just Professor Snape being Professor Snape, I suppose. Look, Amora, I have to go--"

"Okay," she hummed, eyeing her friend suspiciously as he retreated down the empty corridor, hugging his robes closer to his body than usual.

She couldn't quite work out what he was up to simply from that alone, but she knew, whatever it was, she wasn't meant to be involved. And what was Snape even talking about when he asked if Leon was doing Harry's dirty work? Was Harry stealing from Snape? Were the Golden Trio on some sort of mission and had included Leon but not her? Or maybe Snape was just pointing fingers at Harry like he usually did...

Amora started to head down the corridor, her head in the clouds as she passed by Snape. He eyed her too, making Amora squirm, but as soon as she'd passed him, it was like her skin could finally stop crawling beneath her school uniform.

It reminded her of Professor Moody and how uncomfortable he had made her feel. However, Harry had completely disproved her theory and shut it down, allowing some comfort in her overactive brain. Her mother often told her she worried over nothing. Maybe she just wasn't used to being around people like Moody.

Amora raced towards the stairs that led down to where the Hufflepuff Common Room was. She passed the kitchens and all of the barrels until she reached the wall of them. To anybody else but a Hufflepuff and their friends, it looked like nothing but storage. Amora tapped her wand against the correct one to 'Helga Hufflepuff' and a circular passageway opened up for her, revealing the brightness of the Common Room where other students were dotted around.

Amora had only ever been in the Gryffindor and the Hufflepuff Common Rooms, and perhaps she was biased, but she preferred her one. It was bright and had plants around, hanging from high ceilings where windows the shapes of circles were, right at the top, only allowing the students inside to see feet as people outside walked past. That was the only downside in Amora's opinion.

She shuffled over to a lone table and pulled out some parchment from her bag, flicking her wand so that it cut into the shape of a card. She grabbed out some coloured pencils and began to draw the Astronomy Tower on the front, doing her best to portray how the windows of Hogwarts glowed nearly as brightly as the stars above. One of her arms concealed her work casually as people strode past, although they paid no attention to the petite brunette.

Once she had finished writing 'happy birthday' on top of it and written a small note inside, Amora tucked it back into her bag and flung it back over her shoulder. As she moved towards the dormitories, Amora realised that Cedric had been staring at her the entire time from where he sat in between all of his friends. They were all laughing and chatting, not even realising that the most popular among them hadn't been paying any attention.

Nervously, Amora gripped her bag tighter and sent a sheepish smile to her older cousin. She nearly blushed under his gaze, his stare making her feel stupid for having feelings for Draco Malfoy. Talking about your first ever relationship was sometimes awkward enough, nevermind talking about it with your older cousin who very much hated your boyfriend.

Cedric didn't smile back. In fact, he didn't even react, simply blinking before one of his friends nudged him with a laugh, forcing Cedric to join in quietly. Amora sighed to herself and headed back towards her dormitory, knowing that she would have to find some way to convince Cedric that Draco was as serious about her as she was about him.

Breaking up with Draco wasn't an option at this point, not when she was on the verge of using the 'L' word with him. The only thing holding her back from telling Draco that she might feel that way is the overwhelming anxiety of being rejected and humiliated, and also because Draco didn't even appear to be the type to say 'I love you' to his own family.

So, as soon as Amora got to her bed, she buried her homemade card with his birthday present underneath her bed and tied her hair back into plaits for dinner. She was scared Draco would be disappointed with his present, considering she didn't have as much money as Blaise and Theo and his other friends, but only time would tell.

...


	35. Chapter 35

On the fifth of June, Amora woke up slightly earlier than usual and slipped the present that she had bought Draco into her school bag, alongside her card. The other girls were still snoring away when she climbed into the shower to do her usual routine, however, by the time she had emerged back into the dormitory, everybody was starting to get up and shuffle around the large room.

"It's hot already," Susan groaned, kicking the covers further down her bare legs and slinging her arm over her face where sweat was collecting on her forehead.

Zena, an evening showerer, was already slipping her tie on over her school shirt when she glanced over at the ginger girl.

"There's supposed to be a really bad heatwave this summer," Zena said, "I'm travelling over Europe in August though."

The mention of a heatwave caused flashing images of herself and Cedric jumping over waves in the sea every summer. It immediately made her frown softly as she grabbed her wand off of her bedside table.

"We know," Hannah huffed tiredly as she climbed off of her bed. "You've been talking nonstop about it since the start of the school year."

Zena pouted, slightly disheartened as she finished tying her tie and moved to the bathroom to brush her teeth where Kathy had gone. Amora used a spell to dry her hair and then brushed it out, doing some makeup and then pulling on her school uniform. She didn't bother with her school jumper, deciding that it was far too hot out, and slung her robe through the strap of her backpack so she didn't have to carry it around.

Amora headed down to the Great Hall where the Hufflepuff table was filling up slowly but surely, mainly the earlier years already sat down. The other tables were quite sparse too. Amora's eyes landed on a familiar face towards the top of her yellow table, her heart skipping a beat as she moved forwards quickly, trying not to think much in case it made her back down.

"Cedric?" Amora's voice came out more nervous than she had suspected it to do, a blush coating her cheeks when not only her cousin looked at her, but all of his friends, too. "Please may I talk to you? In private?"

"I'm busy," Cedric said in a warning tone, barely looking her in the eye.

"It's important," she said, her eyes silently pleading with him.

He'd taken far too long to get back to her about catching her with Draco. As every day passed, she felt like her cousin was slipping further and further away from her. Perhaps he'd rather pretend that she didn't exist than try and hear her out.

However, Cedric brushed her off again. "Amora, go pester one of your friends instead. It's too early to deal with you."

One of Cedric's friends snorted, the others looking quite amused. A girl with braids smacked Cedric's arm lightly, shooting him a small glare.

"Cedric, she's your little cousin," the girl huffed.

"Family talk like that with each other," Benny hissed in the girl's ear. "Stay out of it."

Amora didn't stick around for Cedric to change his mind. Draco had told her that she shouldn't beg for his forgiveness or approval. Now that she had put herself out there for him, it was his turn. She wouldn't go crawling back twice in a row.

Her cheeks were blazing red with embarrassment, feeling furious with Cedric for embarrassing her in front of all of his older friends. She sat down in her usual seat, Justin and Leon opposite her as they ate their breakfast. If they noticed that she was in a glum mood then they didn't say anything.

Amora remained in a bad mood right up until her final class of the day-- Divination. She shared it with her friends and also Draco was in that class. She hadn't been able to get him alone all day or even make eye contact with the birthday boy, but he'd looked happy nearly every time she had seen him, so she assumed his birthday was going well.

The classroom was muggy when Amora walked inside, sitting down on her pouffe with Harry, Ron, and Leon. Ron was already complaining about how boiling it was as Amora chucked her bag by her feet, rolling her shirt sleeves up to her elbows and resisting the urge to make similar comments. The fumes from the scented fire felt even more sickly today than ever.

"My dears," Professor Trelawney spoke from the front of the classroom. We have almost finished our work on planetary divination. Today, however, will be an excellent opportunity to examine the effects of Mars, for he is placed most interestingly at the present time. If you will all look this way, I will dim the lights..."

With a wave of her wand, Professor Trelawney removed the room of light and brought out a miniature solar system model inside a glass dome. Amora could barely concentrate on it, her mind dwelling on other things. Cedric had been moved to the back, and now she was just thinking about how she would be spending time with Draco soon. They'd snuck out together three nights ago, but she still managed to miss him dearly.

Her brown eyes managed to sneak their way over to the blond boy. Her lips tilted into a lazy smile upon discovering that Draco was already watching her, a soft smirk on his pale face. She pushed some of her hair out of her face, hoping it didn't look too frizzy from the heat, and nearly blushed when Draco sent her a wink before turning his attention back to Trelawney.

It was then that she realised that Harry had managed to doze off, his cheek pressed against his hand and his glasses nearly hanging off of his nose. Small breaths escaped his nose, his chest rising and falling evenly. He looked peaceful.

The Divination teacher continued to go on and on about the angle that Mars was making with Neptune when, minutes later, a small whimper left Harry's lips. Only Ron and Amora seemed to hear, Ron raising his brows at Amora. Leon was doodling on his parchment, glancing up when Ron leaned forward to whisper to the brunette girl next to him.

"What kind of dream do you reckon he's having?" Ron joked, voice barely above a whisper.

Amora pulled a face of disgust whilst he and Leon chuckled, shaking their heads. Just as Ron was about to do his best friend a favour and wake him up, Harry began to cry out, his body suddenly sinking to the ground as he began to claw at the scar on his forehead. He made noises of obvious pain and discomfort, body withering as his three friends darted from their seats.

Amora raced to kneel in front of him beside Ron, Ron's hands shaking Harry slightly as the rest of the class started to crowd around. His eyes snapped open as Ron called his name, green and watering in what Amora assumed was either pain or fear.

"You all right?" The Weasley boy questioned.

"Of course he isn't!" Professor Trelawney barely looked concerned but looked rather excited instead. "What was it, Potter? A premonition? An apparition? What did you see?"

"Nothing," Harry replied, but as Amora and Leon exchanged glances, they seemed to collectively decide that it was a lie.

"You were clutching your scar!" Professor Trelawney exclaimed, "You were rolling on the floor, clutching your scar!" Come on, Potter, I have experience in these matters."

"I need to go to the hospital wing, I think," Harry dismissed her plainly, "Bad headache."

"My dear, you were undoubtedly stimulated by the extraordinary clairvoyant vibrations of my room," the teacher continued, frowning past her enlarged glasses. "If you leave now, you may lose the opportunity to see further than you have ever--"

"I don't want to see anything except a headache cure," Harry cut her off as he used Ron and Amora for support to climb back to his feet, starting to head for the door. "See you later," he said to his friends.

Amora stared after him with a small frown on her face, wondering what all of that was about. Ron looked even more worried than she did, and the rest of the class felt like it dragged on for years, a mixture of Harry and Draco swirling around in Amora's brain. 

D.M + A.B

As dinner wrapped up, the Slytherin table far rowdier than usual as they celebrated Draco's birthday, Amora made an excuse to her friends and hurried to her dormitory where she changed out of her school uniform. Her robe was tossed carelessly onto her duvet, alongside her shirt and skirt and tie, her shoes discarded underneath the bed. She pulled on a pair of mom shorts, belting up the baggy denim and tucking in a lilac short-sleeved t-shirt.

Amora took one glance at herself in the mirror and decided that it would have to do, her heart beating nervously as she emptied her bag of the things she didn't need and flung it back over her shoulders. She glanced down at her watch as she rushed into the Common Room. She had two minutes to make it to the place she'd told Draco to meet her.

She picked up her pace when a hand grabbed her. Cedric held a frown on his face as he released her arm. "Amora. Can we talk?"

The brunette glared at him slightly. "I asked you to talk this morning."

She glanced back down at her watch as if time was escaping faster than usual. Cedric seemed to realise that she had somewhere to be and, without the presence of Kathy or Leon, he had a good idea who she was meeting. He glared back slightly.

"Well now is better for me," Cedric declared.

"Well, it's not for me," Amora huffed and moved past him.

She brushed past a few seventh years as she left the Common Room, picking up her pace and taking her as fast as her short legs would take her. She should definitely not have spent so long deciding whether the lilac purple looked better with her shorts or if she should go green just to gain a compliment or two from Draco about it.

Amora left the castle and hurried down the grounds, closer to the direction of the Quidditch Pitch. She glanced over her shoulder, her legs taking her quicker than usual down a hill, when a pair of hands grabbed her hips. Amora squealed, her soul nearly leaving her body as Draco grasped her, her hands on his shoulders as he smirked handsomely.

"You frightened me!" Amora exclaimed, smacking his chest as he let her back down.

"Sorry," Draco replied half-heartedly, "I was getting bored waiting around the Broom Shed. Had to make sure you hadn't left me hanging."

"Of course not," Amora beamed, smoothing her hands from his shoulders down his arms, grabbing his hands. "C'mon!"

Draco's brows rose in surprise when he was suddenly tugged in the direction he'd come from. He had no chance to utter a word, his knees nearly buckling as she dragged him down the slope. He couldn't hide the smile from his face as he followed the shorter girl, listening to her sweet laugh as she led him down towards a tree.

As soon as they reached their destination, Amora released his hand and whirled around, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him down so their lips met.

"Happy birthday, Draco," Amora whispered, watching as he smiled a little. "I thought we could stay under the tree. Some shade for your pale skin."

"I have to keep up the Malfoy aesthetic, you know," Draco teased in a soft murmur, kissing her lips again.

Amora kissed back for about a minute before she forced herself to pull away. "Listen, as much as I would love to kiss you forever, we don't have forever. Blaise told me that the Slytherins are throwing you a small party of sorts in an hour and a half."

"I can turn up fashionably late to my own birthday party, can I not?"

Amora rolled her eyes with a smile, reaching into her bag and bringing out the white envelope with his name written in cursive. Draco's slender fingers broke through the seal and he tugged out what appeared to be a handmade card. He recognised the Astronomy Tower, sketched in a mixture of colours, and instantly felt the corners of his mouth twitch upwards. Written in block writing above it was: HAPPY BIRTHDAY DRACO!

He opened it.

Dear Draco,

Happy Birthday!

I hope you have an amazing day. I always write notes in birthday cards, however, I know you aren't one for too much affection and that it could embarrass you. Just know that you're my favourite person and there's nobody else I'd rather spend my nights on the Astronomy Tower with.

Hugs and kisses,

Amora xxxxx

Draco felt the heat climbing his neck but fought it off with a smirk. "Hugs and kisses?" He teased. 

Amora rolled her eyes yet again. "That's how I sign off my cards for friends and family."

"Cute," he muttered, thumb smoothing over the sketch on the front of the card again when Amora drew out a poorly-wrapped present. "For me?"

"No, for Filch," Amora replied sarcastically, earning a small glare. "Of course it's for you. You'll have to excuse the wrapping, though. I'm not very patient with it."

"I can tell."

"Oh, shove off, you!" Amora pushed him playfully as he started to tear away the paper. "You most likely get house elves to wrap all of your gifts for you!"

Draco smirked. "Well, of course."

He finally peeled off all of the wrapping paper to reveal a dark green hoodie, quite oversized. Draco inspected it with furrowed brows, flipping it over. Embroidered onto the left side was the Slytherin crest, done so perfectly that if Draco hadn't questioned why Amora had been studying his robe so intensely two weeks ago, then he would have believed it had been bought. However, he'd never seen a jumper like it.

Amora studied him nervously, her bottom lip caught between her teeth as she waited for him to say something. Like usual, his expression didn't give much away, other than the fact that he seemed quite amused, his brows raised. She wasn't sure if he was silently mocking it or if he was admiring it.

"I- I'm sorry that it's not a lot, I didn't have a lot of money a-and I learnt how to do embroidery a few years ago, so I thought something personal could be cool. I- I did buy the jumper, though, so I don't take credit for that obviously, but if you don't like it, then I can just--" Amora's rambling was cut off by a pale finger pressing to her lips.

Draco was shaking his head. "You amuse me," he said, "You and your rambling. I love it, Amora."

"You do?" Amora's eyes widened a little. "I know we're quite literally about to have a heatwave and it's boiling enough as it is, but I thought it would be cool for weekend casuals during the colder months, or if you're just hanging around your dorm and you don't want anybody to see it--"

"Why wouldn't I want anybody to see it?" He frowned.

"Be- Because it's not, like, expensive or anything," Amora said, blushing when she realised that she had made him out to sound like a real douche. "Not what you would usually wear."

"Somebody once told me you can be rich in more ways than money," Draco hesitated to say, Amora's eyes widening again when she realised he was talking about her after he'd joked about the Weasleys. "It might not be threaded with pure gold or whatever else, but you made it for me. It's valuable to me now."

Her heart skipped a beat and then melted. She felt her arms itch to wrap around Draco, feeling as if there was a literal magnetic pull between the two of them. Amora kneeled up and grabbed him, tucking her head into his neck. Draco's hand smoothed down the back of her lilac shirt.

I love you, Amora thought. Merlin, I love you.

The thought nearly made her jump. Her fingers held onto the back of Draco's shirt even harder, bunching it into her hands as she processed what she'd just admitted silently to herself. It had popped up so suddenly, and deep inside her, Amora knew that it was true. She'd fallen harder than she had ever expected to for Draco Malfoy.

"I'm glad you like it," Amora whispered as she pulled away.

Draco glanced back down at the material in his hands. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, Draco."

D.M + A.B

Eventually, when Draco's birthday party was about an hour in, Amora managed to get him to part ways with her so that he could enjoy the rest of his birthday with his friends. The sun had set but the air was still warm as she moved through the courtyard. She paused in her tracks when she spotted Cedric and Cho standing by a pillar, a small laugh leaving the blushing girl's lips as Cedric traced the back of his fingers down her cheek.

He was grinning too. In fact, Cedric looked the happiest he had all month. She suddenly felt bad for blowing him off earlier, but she'd been angry with him and wanted to go and see Draco before he thought she'd forgotten about him on his own birthday. As Cedric leant down to press his lips against Cho's, Amora took that as her cue to leave and walked through the entrance of the school.

She found Harry, Ron, and Hermione all sat around, still in their uniforms minus the robes. Hermione beamed and waved when she spotted Amora.

"Been tanning, Amora?" Hermione asked sweetly.

Amora peered down at her legs and realised that they were a little more red than when she had left. "Unintentionally, I suppose," she half-grinned at them. "I was reading down the bottom of the fields. It's quite relaxing, you know? To be by yourself. Boarding school can be intense."

"Try having six siblings," Ron grumbled.

Amora grinned. "Oh, I can imagine!" She sat down with them. "I bet Christmases are chaotic, hm? Especially with Fred and George about!"

"Oh, don't," Ron huffed, "They've just turned seventeen back in April. I am not looking forward to spending my summer stuck in the Burrow with them Apparating all over the place."

"Come visit me!" Amora proposed eagerly. "All three of you, of course. I was telling Harry about it a few months ago. My house is not exactly big enough for an overnight stay, but when it gets hot, we could all go swimming or something. A nice stress reliever before O.W.L year."

"That sounds amazing, Amora," Hermione said.

"Yeah," Harry agreed, "If I can escape the Durselys, that sounds good."

"I'm sure those miserable sods wouldn't realise you were gone if you just locked your bedroom door, Harry," Ron grumbled bitterly, not hiding his hatred for Harry's uncle and auntie.

"Yeah, they probably wouldn't."

"Well, my birthday is August second, so... Maybe some time around then. If my mum says yes, although I'm not sure why she'd say no."

"I wouldn't blame her if she didn't want Ron around," Hermione teased, earning a glare from the ginger boy who then rolled his eyes.

Amora giggled, shaking her head. She only stayed with the three Gryffindors for a little bit longer before she decided that it was time for her to go back up to her common room. When she walked inside, it was quite busy, kids and teenagers from all different year groups sat around and enjoying themselves for a few hours. Amora spotted her friends her age sitting around one of the tables at the back of the large room.

"'Allo Amora!" Justin cheered as he smacked his fists down repeatedly onto the table. "Ha! Do you get it? I said 'hello Amora', but it sounded like I said 'Alohomora!'"

Amora forced a small smile. It definitely wasn't the first time that she'd heard that one. "Yeah, I get it," she amused him, placing her hand on the back of his chair and Ernie's. "What's everyone doing?"

"Ernie had a shot," Susan huffed in disapproval.

"A shot?" Amora repeated, confused. "Of what?"

"Firewhisky," Justin grinned, "Leon and I bought a bottle off some Slytherin. Apparently they're throwing some sort of birthday party for Malfoy tonight."

"Seriously?" The brunette grabbed the bottle that Justin was showing her under the table, shooting a glare at Leon as well. "Their party is going to have alcohol? He's turned fifteen--"

"Oh, you silly little Pureblood, you," Leon chuckled, scratching under her chin so she pulled away. "It's Muggle culture to be drunk in a field by the time you're thirteen."

"What kind of Muggle culture is that?" Amora protested.

"British Muggle culture," Leon grinned, holding the bottle up.

"And you know what? We thought, why should Slytherin have all of the fun?" Justin added, "The older Hufflepuffs are way too strict to give us any. They say we have to wait until next year to join in with all of the parties and stuff. So we thought... fuck it. Let's keep a bottle for ourselves. Most of us are sixteen at the end of this year anyway."

Amora chewed down on her lip. "Sixteen's still not legal."

"No, but it's pathetic if you haven't been drunk by then," Zena, a Muggle-born, said matter-of-factly. "All my Muggle friends thought that was what boarding school would be about. Playing spin the bottle in our dorms every Friday night, seeing who can down the most shots the quickest..."

The brown-eyed girl stared between them all. The only one that looked apprehensive about the whole thing was Susan Bones. Even Kathy looked pretty relaxed from where she was perched on Leon's lap, his arms wrapped around her and his chin on her shoulder as she smiled at Amora.

"Are you in?" Kathy asked.

"Just a little bit of alcohol, 'Mora," Leon grinned.

Amora sighed reluctantly. "Fine. Okay."

She hoped she wouldn't regret this.


	36. Chapter 36

Amora had only been in the boys' dormitory once before, and that was back in the first year when Leon gave her a small tour whilst the other boys were hanging around inside the common room. She would have shown him the girls' in return, but there were defence mechanisms that stopped the boys entering the girls' dorms. She remembered the room to be exactly like the girls', just messier.

Now, four years later, Amora was surprised to find that it was relatively tidier. Other than some unfolded uniforms sprawled upon unmade beds, it was up to Amora's standards, or rather the standards that she had picked up from her mother who liked the 'overly clean' lifestyle Muggles had.

Amora sat down on the floor, her legs crossed as her friends all did the same thing. It was a tight squeeze for the ten Hufflepuffs, their knees all brushing with the exception of Kathy and Leon who were leaning into one another like always. The brunette watched with curious eyes as Justin grabbed the bottle he'd been holding and unscrewed the cap from the top.

Amora had had Firewhisky only once, and that was right after the first task when Cedric had completed it and the older years allowed the fourth years to have a sip each. She hadn't minded the taste, but she remembered how it had warmed her chest and made it feel slightly uncomfortably tight. Amora wasn't opposed to drinking, not at all, but she'd never been drunk before, and she was relatively certain that some of her other friends around the room hadn't been either.

Unless Leon had with his Muggle friends in London, then Amora was pretty sure he'd never been drunk either.

"I'm not sure about this," Ernie admitted as Justin began to pour some into the goblets they had taken. "I really want to get prefect next year, and if I get caught underage drinking--"

"We're all here, Ernie," Hannah reminded him, "Dumbledore can't just stop all of us from being prefects next year. He'll have to pick two."

"Malfoy and his lot are definitely drinking right now anyway," Zacharias grumbled in agreement. "And nobody will ever find out. If anybody's going to get caught, it's them-- they're the ones probably blasting music and all that."

"If you don't want to drink, you don't have to, Ernie," Kathy said softly, her eyes glancing over the boy sympathetically.

Ernie hesitated, looking between his circle of friends and biting down on his lip. "Fine."

"Aye!" Justin grabbed his best friend's shoulder and shook him proudly. "Atta boy. We didn't get this cheap either."

He passed along all of the goblets and Amora took hers, spinning it around gently and peering inside. She bent her face towards the cup and inhaled, cringing back slightly at the intoxicating scent that felt as if it was already infiltrating her bloodstream. Amora took a sip, not realising that she had been the first until her friends started to childishly hoot around her.

She found it was easy taking small sips, just slightly bitter on the tongue. Leon grabbed her wrist.

"Down it, 'Mora," he said.

Chanting filled Amora's ears and she grinned under the attention before she did as she was told. It spilled past her lips and down her throat in one swift tilt of the goblet, causing her belly and chest to feel warm. Amora's face scrunched up once she'd finished and she raised her goblet to the air.

"Come on then, you cowards!" She laughed, nudging Leon. "You down it too!"

"Your wish is my command." Leon threw his 'shot' back like it was nothing, only a small wince once he had swallowed.

There was a mixed performance from the other Hufflepuffs, some who had drunk clearly more than others. Ernie gagged once he'd drank his, shaking his head and cringing.

"Merlin!" He made spitting sounds as if hacking it all back up. "That was vile!"

"It gets better," Justin promised him. "Anyone want more?"

Most said yes, Amora included. As she sat on the floor of the boys' dormitory, she felt more and more comfortable with Ernie, Justin, and even Zacharias, who she'd only ever speak to if they were hanging out with Leon or one of the other girls. Her comfort pushed her to reach for her second glass, which Leon handed to her all too eagerly.

"Careful, Amora," Kathy smiled as she sipped at her own. "A hangover is the last thing you need."

"No, but she needs to get tipsy, don't you, 'Mora?" Leon grinned, nudging his girlfriend. "We all need to get a bit tipsy. Let loose a little before next year, when O.W.Ls start."

"Ugh, let's not talk about that," Zena grumbled, moving to grab more from Justin.

Amora decided to relax, feeling her head grow comfortably heavy on her shoulders and her eyelids start to droop a little as she forced herself not to smile at literally everything that was happening around her. Around her fourth small glass, Amora was no longer tipsy and definitely drunk, but she was aware of her state, and she found it rather exciting.

"Does drunk feel like... sleepy?" Amora slurred.

Leon grinned from where he was sitting, Amora's head in his lap as he ran his fingers through her hair, Kathy resting her head on his shoulder. He'd been looking after her since she started to feel unlike herself, even giving her a drink or two of his that he didn't want.

"Like, your eyes feeling heavy?" Leon asked.

"Mhm," Amora murmured. "And..." She stuck her hand in the air and marvelled at her fingertips as she slowly moved them about. "Everything's in... slow... motion..." She spoke as if she was in slow motion herself.

Kathy giggled drunkenly from the other side. "You're absolutely wasted, beautiful."

"Awh..." She hiccupped, "You think I'm beautiful?"

"You're one of the prettiest girls in the entire school--" Ernie began, his voice more slurred than anyone elses, only to get whacked by Justin. "I mean... After the long list of girls that are prettier than you, of course."

Amora pouted, knowing she should maybe be offended as Justin whacked Ernie again harder, but the insult slipped away from her brain quicker than you could say 'Hufflepuff.' Her pout slid away and she stared at the ceiling, half focusing on the laughter and chatter going on around her, and half just thinking.

She wondered what Draco was doing right now. Was he drunk like her? Was he having a good time? Did he get a nice birthday cake?

"Cake..." Amora murmured.

Kathy and Leon looked at each other and then burst out laughing. Once the Firewhisky was gone, evenly distributed among the Hufflepuffs who were different levels of tipsy or (in Amora and Ernie's cases) drunk, Leon helped Amora's head off his lap and watched as she groaned.

"My head weighs a tonne!" Her eyes widened. "Room is... dancing?"

"Merlin's beard..." Susan shook her head, cringing. "How embarrassing."

"Give her a break, she's small," Hannah said, "Of course she'd be a lightweight."

"I'm not that drunk," Amora protested stubbornly as she leant back against one of the beds. "I just feel... tingly. On fire."

"Weirdo." Leon shook his head and laughed.

"Am I officially in touch with British Muggle culture?"

"If we were in a field, maybe," Zena replied.

Amora gasped as if she had had the brightest idea. "Let's go outside then!"

"No, no, no," Hannah grabbed her before she could climb up off of the floor, laughing. "I thought I was a lightweight, Amora."

"Leon's not even a teensy bit tipsy," Zacharias scoffed.

"You should have said, mate, I would have given you some more," Ernie said.

"No, I'm fine, thanks."

"Well, this is what being drunk feels like," Kathy smiled as her fingers played with the sleeve of Leon's shirt. "It feels quite nice. Quite... carefree, I don't know."

"This has to be a one-time thing," Ernie spoke, still slurring his words. "I will not allow us to become a house of alcoholics."

"That would be the Slytherins," Zacharias muttered bitterly, making Amora roll her eyes and scoff.

"You do realise that they're not all bad, right?" Amora glared at him. "We all know how pissed you get when people say Hufflepuffs are stupid and gullible and whatnot. Keep that same energy for all the houses, yeah?"

"Oh, right, I forgot how you became besties with Pansy Parkinson," Zacharias replied, "Or how you had breakfast with Blaise Zabini that one time. It seems like they've taken you in, haven't they?"

"That's not the case at all..." Amora felt her heart pounding and her veins buzzing, a mixture of anger and alcohol.

"The Slytherins... They're only nice to you because you're a Pureblood. You're on thin ice with who your mother is, Buckley. I've heard people saying it. That they're only buttering you up to piss off Potter," Zacharias spat.

Amora climbed to her feet, her brown eyes blazing with fury. "You realise I am more than just Harry Potter's friend, right? I'm more than just a Pureblood, or my mother's daughter! Some people want to be friends with me because I'm Amora Buckley. Because I can be kind, or because I'm funny sometimes, or- or--"

"Because it's easy to take advantage of you," Zacharias said, "Because you're gullible."

"Amora!" Hannah screamed as the brunette dove down, landing on top of Zacharias. "Leon, grab her!"

Unlike the little mercy she had shown Draco in their second year, Amora found herself smacking her fists against Zacharias' face, her face screwed up in disgust as he tried to grab at her wrists, moving his head to the side to try and avoid her drunken throws. She barely got four in before Leon had grabbed her and hauled her away.

"Alright, Amora," Kathy whispered as she stood and grabbed her friend's hand. "Smith doesn't know what he's on about."

Leon stood as well, shooting daggers at Zacharias as Kathy guided Amora towards the door. The blonde girl suggested that they headed down to the common room which was now empty, so Leon could sit with them too. Kathy placed herself in an armchair, across from Amora and Leon as he gently grasped her hands and ran his thumb over her red knuckles, shaking his head whilst the brunette glared at the rug on the floor.

"I'm not besties with Pansy..." Amora slurred, rolling her eyes. "We just speak occasionally. You're my best friend, Leon."

"All right, Amora," Leon whispered, rubbing soothing circles against her bare arm. "You don't need to clarify that with me."

"But I know you don't like her, and I don't like some of the stuff she says, especially about 'Mione, but she's not all bad..." Amora ranted quietly, "Like, she's helped me before. A lot. And I think maybe she has her own things going on that makes her so..."

"Bitter?" Kathy suggested lightly, earning a small nod from Amora. "I think so too, Amora. I don't know her well, but it can't be easy to be a teenager growing up with some of the families those lot have. So prestigious and proper."

Amora thought about how Pansy had told Amora she was a lesbian, and how she was probably one of the only select few that knew. Pansy had made out that it wasn't a big deal, but she'd told Amora after that she had no feelings for Draco and that she only cosied up to him to make her parents happy. Amora realised that Pansy must not be out to even her parents and thought about how difficult it must be pretending to be something you're not all of the time.

"You okay?" Leon clicked his fingers in her face. "Zoned out on me there, Amora."

"Mhm," she murmured tiredly.

Kathy released a loud yawn. "Well, I'm absolutely shattered. I fancy a lay-in in the morning. You coming, Amora?"

Amora shook her head. "In a bit, Kath."

"Night, Kathy." Leon leaned up and kissed her as she walked by. "I love you."

Kathy smiled. "Love you too. Night, Amora."

"Night."

Amora sat there and thought about what she had just done. She had thrown punches at one of her own housemates, which was so unlike her. She rarely got so angry, and definitely not angry enough to get violent. Suddenly she decided she didn't like being drunk much. It scared her.

"What's... time is it?" She whispered.

"It's two in the morning," Leon said, "Why? Was there... somewhere you needed to be, perhaps?"

She didn't detect the change in his tone. The brunette rubbed at her face, her eyes drooping like she could fall asleep any moment now.

Amora's face scrunched up as she thought for a moment. "Hmm... no? Don't think so..."

"Huh," Leon replied, brows raised. "And, um... where were you before you got back this evening?"

"With Harry, Ron, and 'Mione..." Amora said, bored, not catching onto the investigation taking place in her drunken state. 

"Before that?"

Amora thought. She remembered Draco and how she'd realised she was in love with him today. How nice his hair had smelt when she'd hugged him, and how perfect his lips had for against hers. She recalled his laugh and smile that seemed to be reserved for her and his sweet words that had caused her heart to melt into a puddle.

Amora began to giggle. Her cheeks were blazing and she laughed and laughed, staring at the ceiling.

"What's funny?" Leon demanded, frustrated. "Who were you with?"

"You wanna know?" Amora asked, still beaming. "Are you sure you wanna know?"

Leon nodded. "Yes!"

"Come here..." she whispered, beckoning him closer with her hand.

The brunet boy leaned down eagerly, ear close to her mouth.

"I was with..." Amora whispered, "your father."

She started to laugh hysterically, throwing her head back and clapping her hands whilst Leon clenched his jaw and moved away. Her body tilted as he stood up from the couch, running a hand through his floppy brunet hair. He paced for a second before turning back and glaring at her.

"You don't tell me anything anymore!" He huffed, silencing her drunken giggles. "How can I be your best friend if you don't trust me?"

Amora frowned at him.

"Who were you with, Amora?" He breathed out, trying to calm himself down. "Were you with Parkinson? Zabini?"

The brunette blinked at him. "Nobody, Leon. Leave me alone."

She climbed from the couch and began to storm towards the exit of the common room. She would have gone back to her dorm, but Leon was in the way.

"Where are you going?" Leon growled, "To meet up with Blaise Zabini?"

Amora froze in her spot and whirled around. "What?" She hissed.

"Blaise. Zabini. Don't act like you suddenly don't know him."

"What about Blaise?" Her heart was pounding harshly in her chest.

"You're dating him, aren't you? You've had that stupid crush on him since the first year, and I reckon you've been sneaking out to be with him since he asked you to the Yule Ball! And don't think I didn't see that note that he passed you in Herbology last week!" Leon ranted.

Amora quickly realised that he had seen Blaise and her passing the notes discussing Draco's birthday. She shook her head at him.

"You're wrong," she said truthfully, "I don't like Blaise and I'm not going out with him or sneaking out to meet up!"

"Why did you go to the Yule Ball with him then?"

"Because he asked me! And he's not exactly ugly, is he, Leon? Plus Harry had been trying to corner me for, like, a week, so I needed an excuse not to go with him," Amora rambled.

Leon's face scrunched up. "You sound like such a bitch when you say that. What did Harry ever do to you?"

"He'd been fighting with D- Malfoy about me, talking about me like an object or a prize or something--"

"Defending you--"

"Malfoy was the one defending me!" Amora bellowed, taking Leon by surprise. "And he's the only person in this whole bloody school that seems to care about what happened to me last year!"

"What hap--"

"The Whomping Willow!" Amora felt like her throat was about to rip apart, tears forming in her eyes out of anger and frustration. "Where Harry, Ron and Hermione left me--"

"You're not still on about that?" Leon cut her off, "They were going to come back, and they visited you in the Hospital Wing--"

"I will still go on about that because it hurt me! Not just physically, Leon. A-And the only one there for me at the time was Malfoy! Draco fucking Malfoy! How is that supposed to make me feel?"

"He only goes on about it like he cares because it's the only thing he can hold over Harry--"

"Not everything is always about Harry!" Amora suddenly screamed, Leon flinching back. "You heard exactly what I said to Zacharias-- I am my own person! Sometimes, Leon, no matter how ridiculous it clearly sounds to you, people like me or they want to help me because of reasons other than Harry Potter."

"I didn't say that..." Leon huffed, "I just meant that Malfoy and his Slytherin cronies aren't to be trusted."

Amora swayed on her feet as she moved closer towards the common room door. Leon called her name but she ignored him, wiping away the furious tears that had managed to escape at some point during their argument. She heard the doors close behind her, leaving her in the basement room filled with barrels.

Her fingertips grazed their wood and metal pieces as she moved into the hallway, past the kitchens which were silent in the middle of the night, and up the stairs that led into the foyer outside the Great Hall. Amora blinked, stumbling up the stairs and landing at the top on her palms and knees. She didn't know what she was doing, all she knew was that she had to get away from Leon before she blurted something she would come to regret.

Filch and Mrs Norris didn't seem to be about. Amora was in her own little world as she moved through the empty corridors of Hogwarts. It was slightly chilly despite how hot it had been that day, but Amora didn't mind the coolness against her exposed skin. It felt good in contrast to her flushed cheeks and heavy chest.

"Amora?" A familiar whisper came from behind her.

Amora turned, blinking. There was nothing there. She diagnosed herself as plastered and realised that it probably wasn't a good idea to be stumbling around the corridors of her school after having an underage drinking session. If she got caught, she could potentially drag her entire year group of Hufflepuffs down with her, and she didn't want that-- even if she was extremely pissed at Leon and Zacharias.

"Amora, it's me." Harry's head popped out of nowhere, making Amora stumble back.

She started to giggle. "Harry," she drawled, realising that he had been tucked under his invisibility cloak. "What's up?"

"I was clearing my head," Harry replied, moving closer to her. "You?" His nose suddenly crinkled, causing his circular glasses to shift about. "Are you drunk, Amora?"

"Mhm," she murmured, "We all thought it might be fun just to experience it. Leon didn't want half of his, so he was giving me extra, I suppose."

Harry looked concerned and a little annoyed. "Why are you out here now? You should be in bed."

"Doing the same thing as you," she replied, "Clearing my mind."

"From what?"

"Leon and how much of a dick he is. I hate him."

Harry frowned. "No, you don't," he said gently. "Whatever he's said or done has annoyed you, but you don't hate him. He's your best friend."

"No, he's not."

"Amora..." He sighed, unsure what to say. "When Ron and I fell out at the start of the year, we made it back to each other fairly quickly. You and Leon will do the same."

The brunette bit her tongue. She couldn't help but feel as though the difference between Ron and Leon was that Ron, despite being the Gryffindor, was much more loyal to his best friend. Ron loved Harry unconditionally, bringing him into his home like another brother, whereas, Amora was pretty sure if she told Leon that she was dating Draco Malfoy, that would be it for them. Her slight friendship with Pansy Parkinson had already created cracks, lies, and mistrust in their relationship.

"Yeah," she said instead, voice croaky.

"Well, how does it feel?" Harry attempted to lighten the mood. "Being drunk?"

Amora cracked a small half-smile. "Kinda feeling like shit as of now."

"Ah, so you wouldn't recommend it?" Harry continued teasingly.

"Maybe just not as much as I had," the brunette's smile widened. "I'm going to wake up with an awful hangover in the morning."

D.M + A.B

Amora was right. Upon awakening the next morning, her head and stomach felt unusually heavy, and it wasn't long before she was leaning over a toilet and puking everything up. To make matters worse, the summer sun raged on outside, and her hair was sticky with sweat, her skin pale and shining sickeningly.

"Oh dear..." Hannah muttered, moving behind Amora and tugging her hair back into a makeshift ponytail. "Somebody get me a hairband, please?" She called over her shoulder.

Zena trudged in, dark circles beneath her eyes and her curly hair a mess upon her head. She lazily pulled a black hairband off of her wrist and handed it to Hannah, not even acknowledging Amora as her feet scuffed across the floor until she stood in the mirror.

"Ugh, I look gross," she muttered, "I'll tell you something for nothing; wizarding alcohol is a lot bloody stronger than Muggle alcohol."

Amora wiped her mouth with the back of her hand as Hannah loosely tied her hair back. She heaved again, her stomach muscles clenching whilst she released all of its contents into the toilet. Kathy shuffled inside with a frown on her face.

"Amora, are you alright?" She gasped, joining Hannah on the other side of the brunette.

"Yeah, I'm good, what about you?" Amora replied sarcastically.

Kathy sighed and stroked her back as she threw up another time. "It's all right. Just let everything out, you'll feel better after you've had a shower and eaten something."

"Yeah, you didn't have much for dinner last night, so that probably didn't help," Hannah added.

They helped Amora clean up and left her to shower, the brunette exhausted but forcing her body to cooperate with her needs. She couldn't stop thinking about the argument she'd had with Leon last night and how shitty she felt now, both physically and mentally. Once she'd brushed her teeth not once but twice, and rinsed her mouth with an excessive amount of mouthwash, the brunette moved into the dormitory.

As she slipped on her clothes, a pair of black shorts and a black cropped top that ended just above her belly button, Zena came up behind her and plaited her wet hair into French braids so it would be out of her face in the summer heat. Amora groaned as she shrugged on an oversized checked flannel over her shorts and top, flowy enough to keep her cool and big enough to cover her skin.

She moved down to the Great Hall, dread filling her stomach as soon as she saw Leon already sat at the table. He looked nearly as shit as she did, despite the fact that he had barely drunk last night. He forced a smile at her when she sat down, one that she didn't return.

"Amora, I'm sorry," he blurted, "I really am. Words cannot describe how sick I feel with myself. I stayed up all night just replaying what I said and feeling like the world's biggest idiot and the worst best friend ever. I was just... scared I was losing you to other people, I guess."

Amora frowned at him, not saying anything as she reached for her usual porridge. It didn't sound like a proper apology. More like he was trying to get her to feel sorry for him.

She ignored him and reached for her usual bowl of porridge. Before she could even look around for the jar of honey, it was being shoved on her face. Amora sighed as she accepted it from Leon, not looking at the small, nervous smile on his face. She poured in more than usual, needing some sort of reward for how sour her night had turned yesterday.

She stirred it about and raised her spoon to her mouth, taking a large mouthful of porridge when Cedric grabbed her arm. Her eyes snapped up to him, wide, and she quickly swallowed her food. 

"What--"

"Outside. Now," he snapped in a panic.

His demanding tone didn't leave Amora any room to protest, and if she was being perfectly honest, she was glad for the distraction from Leon and ready to accept an apology from her cousin for the way he acted towards her yesterday. It would take one person off the list of people that she was currently holding a grudge against.

Amora stood from her seat, following her older cousin out of the hall. They walked down the corridor until they were in the courtyard, the morning sun already warm on Amora's skin and causing Cedric to wince at the brightness.

"Are you ready to talk about Draco now--"

"That honey, Amora, I think-- Merlin's beard-- I think Leon might have put Veritaserum inside it!"


	37. Chapter 37

Amora felt like her head was spinning and as if the air had been knocked out of her lungs. Cedric's hand reached out to steady her, a concerned expression on his face as Amora's gaze flickered back up to him, horrified. Perhaps the worst part was that she couldn't accuse Cedric of lying or being ridiculous, because it actually made so much sense.

Leon had been pleading for information out of her for what felt like ages now and Kathy had even warned her when she told her about Draco that he had been looking for her when she snuck out some nights.

Her next thought was that there was no way Leon would be able to brew Veritaserum until she recalled watching him sneak out of Snape's office a couple of weeks ago. That must have been when he stole it.

Even last night, she'd been drunk and he'd taken advantage of that, still trying to pry information out of her about her whereabouts and whether or not she was dating Blaise Zabini.

"What are you talking about?" Amora frowned, brown eyes practically pleading at Cedric to tell her he miscalculated or something.

"Truth serum, Amora," Cedric said as if she didn't know what it was. "I think Leon put some in the honey you always have with your porridge."

"Wha-- Why--"

"I heard your argument last night, 'Mora, the one about Malfoy being the only one to care about you after you were hit by the Whomping Willow, and how Leon said he couldn't trust you because you never told the truth anymore. Your fight kept replaying in my head all night, because all I could think about was that you had probably snuck out to meet up with Malfoy for comfort, and I couldn't even be angry because... well, after what I heard you and Leon say, I knew Malfoy would make you feel better than Leon..."

"Okay, okay." Amora grabbed his arm and shook him. "As much as I'm happy that you're finally starting to lighten up to the idea of me and Draco, I need you to tell me why you think Leon put Veritaserum in the honey pot!"

"I was first down this morning," Cedric continued quickly, "I wanted to find you and apologise, but you came down later than usual. Leon was there first and he was fiddling with the honey. I thought I saw him put something inside it, but then I told myself I was just sleep-deprived from staying up all night thinking of you, but when Hannah Abbott reached for the honey when she came down, Leon literally snatched it away from her and gave her a different pot. I was curious, and then you came down and he practically forced the honey into your hands. And I thought-- I thought why, and-- truth serum, Amora! Truth serum! I didn't imagine him putting something in the honey, and he was fighting with you for the truth yesterday--"

"Oh, Merlin," Amora muttered, running a hand through her hair.

"Do you feel anything?" Cedric asked, taking a step forward and holding her arm to get her to look up at him, his eyes scanning her face as if he would find visible symptoms of the serum taking its effects on her body.

Amora shook her head quickly. "Cedric, he could get into trouble for this!" She panicked, "The Ministry takes the misuse of Veritaserum extremely seriously--"

"That's what you're worried about?" Her cousin cried incredulously, "Amora, we'll worry about Leon's consequences later, but for now, don't you have a sort of major secret you're trying to hide from everybody?"

Amora swallowed nervously, looking up at Cedric. "How long does it last for?"

"It depends where he got it from. If he brewed it himself, it's probably not that great, in which case about half an hour," Cedric explained, recalling his previous Potions lessons.

"I think he stole it from Snape," the brunette replied hastily.

"Professor Snape..." Cedric breathed, holding his hand on his forehead. "It could be up to six hours, 'Mora."

"Why would he do this to me!?" Amora questioned desperately, her eyes beginning to fill with unwelcomed tears. "Why-"

"Because he's scared of losing you, but the idiot's going about it in all the wrong ways," her older cousin cut her off, clenching his jaw at the idea of Leon. "And I think it's best you stay out of the way of everybody today, okay? It's Saturday, so you should be fine if you go to the bottom of the fields--"

"I was supposed to meet up with Draco today," Amora frowned, "Cedric, please could you tell him--"

"I am not talking to that--"

"Kids!"

Both cousins' eyes snapped over to Professor Buckley who was moving towards them with a grin on her face and her arms outstretched. Amora and Cedric exchanged a panicked glance as they were taking into a small hug that was more like a squeeze. Amora escaped her mother's grasp pretty quickly.

"Look at you two! Hanging out at school like best friends," she teased, pinching Cedric's cheek so he laughed politely, shaking his head. "Have you two had breakfast yet today? It's quite early on a weekend for you to already be out."

"Yeah, we have," Cedric answered for them both quickly, knowing Amora wouldn't be able to lie. "We were just about to go, actually. Meet some friends and hang out outside for once."

Professor Buckley pouted, her hand absentmindedly touching Amora's plaits. "You haven't had these in since last year."

"Zena did them for me," Amora spoke, growing more nervous as the seconds passed, worrying her mother would ask the wrong thing at any moment.

"How sweet of Zena," Professor Buckley said before noticing the look on Cedric's face and sighing. "Fine, I suppose I'll let you two get off, then. I suppose it's not very cool to be seen around with your mother, is it? Or your Auntie Elle?"

"Don't be silly, Auntie Elle--"

"Yeah, kind of," Amora blurted, her hand then smacking over her mouth, eyes wide.

Cedric looked at her, eyes wide as his mouth opened, only a croaking sound coming out. Professor Buckley looked slightly horrified, nearly as much as Amora felt. She went to tell her mother that she was just joking, but the words wouldn't come out, because they weren't true. Tears of frustration nearly welled again.

"She's joking," Cedric said quickly. "See you later, Auntie Elle."

"Oh gosh, oh gosh, oh gosh," Amora repeated in a panic as Cedric led her further and further away from her mother. "I meant it! No wait, I meant to say that I meant it!"

Cedric figured she was attempting to say "I didn't mean it", but was having great difficulty battling off the truth serum infiltrating her system. They moved towards the bottom of the fields, knowing people would be all about considering it was a hot day.

"Okay, maybe we should keep you here for the next six hours... just until it wears off," Cedric said awkwardly as the teenage girl continued to feel guilty over the crestfallen expression her mother had worn.

"I want to be alone," Amora said, "Just... come back with books or something."

"You don't want me to stay?"

"Under any other circumstance where I'm not drugged on Veritaserum, sure, I would love for you to stay, Cedric, but as of right now, I'm confessing to things I didn't even know I properly meant, so no!" Amora rambled.

"Okay..." Cedric said, "I'll try and find out if there's a counter potion or spell or something..."

Amora nodded quickly, expressing her gratitude with a look, watching as her cousin began to move back towards Hogwarts. The brunette released a stressed sigh, dropping down beside the large roots of the tree she was underneath and placing her head in her hands. The sun was rising, getting warmer and warmer as the minutes passed, and Amora couldn't help but feel rage when she thought of Leon.

Cedric was right, he was just trying to figure her out and, in a desperate attempt, had made all the wrong choices. That didn't mean she would let him off though.

All she could think about was what would have happened if her cousin hadn't come and saved her. Most likely, Amora would have blurted all of her secrets to Leon and the rest of the Hufflepuff table.

Not only would she suffer the consequences of that, but so would Draco. Certain members of the Slytherin house who hated her for who her mother was would shun him, especially the older years. Then, his parents would find out... The thought made Amora queasy. Her parents would find out. Harry, Ron, and Hermione would find out...

Leon didn't realise how he could have quite literally just ruined her life.

She felt like she was there for hours when in reality, only thirty minutes had gone by. She plucked blades of grass from the dried ground beneath her and fiddled with the ends of her hair which were tied back into plaits. She refrained from bringing back past habits and making knots out of them like she used to do when she was stressed.

This time last year, a truth serum wouldn't phase her. Amora never lied. She didn't keep secrets from her mother or her friends, but her life had changed dramatically. One of the biggest parts of her life was a lie. She loved Draco Malfoy, and they'd been seeing each other for months now.

"Hey," Cedric breathed, dropping down next to her. "Sorry I took a while."

He handed her some books. They were all his own, she realised. Textbooks and study guides for the sixth year, including an autobiography for some Quidditch player that Amora had never heard of.

"I can't just waltz into the girls' dormitories," Cedric reminded her when he saw the look on her face. "Especially the fifteen-year-olds' one. I thought you might find it interesting, anyway. Get a head start on things."

It wasn't like she had much of a choice now that he had dropped off the only books he apparently owned. Amora decided it wasn't too bad. Maybe she could learn some stuff that would come in use in the future. Cedric began to babble on about how he didn't know how to reverse the Veritaserum, and then his voice faded.

"What?" Amora questioned him. "What is it, Cedric?"

"Leon," he hissed, pointing over to where Leon was walking down the hill, his head craning left and right. "He must be looking for you."

"Shit!" Amora exclaimed, earning an unimpressed look from the older boy. "Ced--"

"Come on." He scooped his books back up with one arm and grabbed her hand in the other, the pair of them taking off in the opposite direction of Leon. "That... Urgh. I will be having words with that friend of yours!"

They paused outside the grounds of Hogwarts, both heaving and panting for air in their lungs. Amora shook her head, unsure if she would even call him her friend after this. She had a constant panic in her head that all of her deepest confessions would spill, and people would look at her just like Cedric did when he found out. Only, she couldn't imagine all of the cruel things people would call her.

A liar. A fraud. A traitor to her friends and mother.

Amora wondered if she really was all of those things.

"This is ridiculous..." She muttered.

"We should test how strong it is," Cedric said, "I mean, obviously you've already offended your mother, but we should see if you can resist it, maybe."

"I think I've already proved I can't. I would never have said that to her. I didn't even really... I didn't think I actually meant it," Amora admitted bashfully.

"Amora, are you in Hufflepuff?"

"Yes," Amora said, although she hadn't even planned on answering him. "Well, that was a stupid question, wasn't it? Because why would I lie about what house I'm in?"

"Well, try and lie to me. Try and tell me you're in Ravenclaw," Cedric said, "Amora, are you in Hufflepuff?"

No, I'm in Ravenclaw.

"Yes, I'm in Hufflepuff," she said instead, facepalming immediately afterwards. "Yep, I am royally screwed. Maybe I could hide in your dorm all day?"

"Leon could come in any moment," Cedric disclaimed, "I would suggest your own dorm since boys aren't allowed in, but I suppose all it takes is one of your roommates to ask why you're hiding from Leon and you'd blurt it all."

Amora groaned. "Why couldn't I like somebody like Harry or Neville? Then I wouldn't be in this mess!"

"Hate to say it, 'Mora, but you can't blame your taste in boyfriends on this one..." Cedric disclaimed, "We can only blame your taste in best friends... Speaking of friends, I suppose you can't hide with the Gryffindors, either, hm?"

"No, they would ask too..." Amora grumbled, rolling her eyes. "Maybe you should just put him under a curse... make him fall asleep for the day so I can just relax down the bottom of the field again."

"Yeah, I'm not getting suspended for that," Cedric huffed, grabbing her shoulder. "Who knows about you and Malfoy? Other than me?"

"Kathy, Pansy, Blaise, and Theo Nott," Amora replied, brows furrowed.

"So, minus Crabbe and Goyle, all the fourth year Slytherin boys know about your... relationship?" Cedric cringed at the thought, not wanting to think of his younger cousin with any boy, especially Malfoy. "Well, we know what that means, don't we?"

"Cedric, they would never sneak me into Slytherin dorms!" Amora gasped, grabbing his arm before he could go and find someone. "Nobody outside of Slytherin has gone in there for hundreds of years! Only Harry and Ron when they snuck in in the second year using Polyjuice Potion..." She clamped her hands over her mouth for the last part, muffling the words that were supposed to be kept on the down-low.

Cedric gave her a small smirk. "If Malfoy really cares about you like he says he does, then he should bend a rule or two for you."

"Why are you helping me?" Amora tugged him back before he could head towards the school. "You've been ignoring me for over a month now and shooting me mean looks. Wouldn't this be a good thing for you? If I just admitted that I'm dating Draco to everybody? Then I would learn my lesson and you would be able to say 'I told you so.'"

Cedric turned back and grabbed her upper arm. "Amora, I need you to understand something, okay? No matter how furious I ever am with you, I will always be there for you. Always, okay? Seeing you hurt or embarrassed wouldn't please me at all. You're my cousin, my first ever friend and I will always be on your side. Even if I don't necessarily agree with some parts."

Amora stared at him for a few moments, a frenzy of feelings and thoughts infiltrating her brain, but only one really stuck out to her-- how much she truly did love her cousin. She jumped up and wrapped her arms around his neck, feeling him hold her back.

"I'll always be there for you as well," she murmured.

"Okay, okay, now is not the time to get sappy." Cedric patted her back as he pulled away. "We have to find Malfoy."

Amora swallowed nervously and nodded. Part of her worried Draco wouldn't help and that Cedric would only hate her boyfriend more, but Amora was nearly positive that the Draco she knew was better than that. She could only hope that everything worked out.

D.M + A.B

"There he is," Amora whispered, the two of them hovering by the door of the Great Hall as they looked over at the Slytherin table.

His platinum blond locks stuck out like a sore thumb from where he was surrounded by his friends, plates discarded in front of them from where they had finished breakfast recently. Draco was listening to something that Blaise was saying before he shook his head and began to talk.

"Okay," Cedric huffed, cracking his neck and straightening his back. "Wish me luck."

"You won't need it, you big baby," Amora hissed, shoving him forward into the large hall.

It was pretty sparse now, most people off to spend their Saturday elsewhere, so barely anybody noticed one of Hogwarts' Triwizard Champions making their way over to the Slytherin table.

Pansy glanced up when she realised Cedric was a few feet away, scowling at him and whacking Draco's arm. The blond glared at her before he saw where she was pointing, or rather who she was pointing at.

Cedric sent a small nod of acknowledgement to all of the Slytherins as they stared up at him. He kept his usual easy smile on his face, acting as if walking over to the green table was nothing out of the usual.

"Can we help you, Diggory?" Draco spoke up, gaze hard as he took a few sips of the tea in front of him.

"Yeah, you can, actually," Cedric said, looking around and realising that Crabbe and Goyle were also there, so he couldn't just come out of it. "Professor Sprout wants you, Malfoy."

"Me?" Draco scoffed, "What on earth could Professor Sprout want me for?"

"Dunno," Cedric shrugged, although his eyes said differently and Draco seemed to pick up on it. "I'm just her prefect, delivering messages..."

"Very well." Draco stood, sending a look to his friends. "Don't wait around for me. Might be a while, depending on what the old hag wants."

"Charming," Cedric snapped, wondering what the hell his cousin saw in him.

Draco followed after the Hufflepuff, concern starting to fill his stomach. As soon as they stepped foot out of the Great Hall, a hand yanked Cedric's shirt and pulled him to the side. Draco wasn't surprised to see Amora standing there, but his brows furrowed, wondering what the hell the two cousins were up to that involved him, and why the hell it had been Cedric to come and get him and not his actual girlfriend.

"What's--"

"Follow us," Cedric cut him off.

Draco sent Amora a look, but the brunette girl pursed her lips at him in response, a wary expression written over her face like she was worried about something. The Slytherin wondered if they were both about to be lectured by Cedric about their relationship and Draco wasn't sure he could deal with that after waking up from a hangover.

"What's going on?" He snapped, looking between them both once they all halted down a desolate hallway.

"This is going to sound really weird, but--"

"We need your help," Cedric interrupted Amora roughly, "And if you actually like my cousin, then you'll--"

"Cedric!" Amora cried, her face going red with embarrassment. "Shut up!" She looked to Draco. "Look, I've been slipped some Veritaserum, and--"

"What?" Draco demanded, his face contorting into an expression of anger straight away. "Veritaserum? By who?"

I don't know.

"Leon," Amora blurted before she could stop herself, making her groan. "Wait, wait, before you do anything stupid, we need to wait until it wears off! And Cedric said that it could be up till six hours until that happens!"

Draco looked furious. "You're going to tell me everything," he said, jaw clenched, before he looked to Cedric. "How do you need me to help? I don't know any antidotes, I could perhaps bribe Snape into giving me one, though."

Cedric's eyes brightened in delight but Amora shook her head quickly. "No! I don't want to get Leon in trouble."

"That's what you're worried about?" Draco scoffed, mirroring Cedric's exact words from a while ago. "How else could I help?"

"He's looking for me," Amora said nervously, "To get the truth out of me, I guess. But there's nowhere I can hide without people asking questions or Leon finding me. Cedric had this stupid idea--"

"You need to sneak her into your dorm," Cedric huffed, cutting off Amora's bashful words. "She said most of your roommates already know, yes? There's probably about five hours left before the serum wears out of her, but until then, unless the two of you want your relationship exposed, I suggest you don't let anybody that doesn't already know talk to Amora."

"I would go to Harry or Hermione or Ron, but they'd ask why I'm avoiding Leon, or he'd ask if they'd seen me and then I'd get caught either way."

Amora had him at 'I would go to Harry.' Draco's face had scrunched up and, despite knowing that he would be breaking centuries of Slytherin tradition, he nodded with a heavy breath.

Even Theo had never snuck his Ravenclaw girlfriend into the Slytherin dungeons. In this case, though, Draco wasn't sure where else Amora could hide either without somebody finding out something.

"I'm going to get you into my dorm room and then you're going to tell me exactly what happened, okay?" Draco said sternly to Amora, who nodded quickly, a small smile on her face.

Cedric appeared surprised as if he didn't think Draco would really go out of his way to help Amora, especially when he could get in trouble for doing so. Amora handed Cedric back the books he had brought out for her and sent him a small beam.

"And... No funny business, alright?" He pointed between the two of them.

"Yes, sir," Draco hissed sarcastically before he grabbed Amora's arm and started to lead her down the corridor towards the Slytherin dungeons, his jaw still clenched.

When a group of Slytherins in the year above walked around the corner, Draco released her arm and even gave her a small shove, not enough to hurt her. He feigned a glare at her and Amora played along with a sneering look of her own.

"Piss off, Buckley," he hissed, storming ahead as she followed. "You're annoying as fuck."

"Yeah?" Amora spat, "Well you're handsome as fuck."

Her hand smacked over her mouth in an instant, her heart stopping in her chest as embarrassment painted itself over her cheeks and down her chest and ears, shining the colour of blood. Draco nearly froze too, his expression faltering in panicked confusion, but he recovered pretty quickly, rolling his eyes.

"Tell Potter you won your stupid dare and leave me alone," he sneered.

The Slytherins had only chuckled at Amora's words, seemingly not too interested in the drama going on in younger years, not stopping to stare as they carried on down the corridor. As soon as they were gone, Amora shot him a desperate look.

"Draco, I'm so sorry, I meant to insult you--"

"I know, it's the Veritaserum," he hissed in a whisper before a cocky look crossed his pale features. "Good to know that you think I'm handsome, though."

Amora silently panicked, hoping other things didn't come popping out of her mouth, such as the stupid 'L' word her brain had been associating with Draco since yesterday. She was nowhere near ready to tell him, and she was sure that he wasn't ready to hear it yet, either.

It was going to be a long day and Amora was sure that, either way, between herself, Draco, and Cedric, Leon was not going to come out of it well.


	38. Chapter 38

"My bed's that one."

Draco's finger pointed over to one of the four-posters towards the back of the room, more obviously the one that had his school shoes neatly placed at the end of it. Amora wandered over to it, taking his remark as an invitation to sit on top of it, but feeling somewhat awkward doing so. Despite there being no windows since it was underground, it smelt surprisingly fresh in the fourth year boys' dormitory.

Draco's area in particular smelt slightly of the cologne that he used every morning, filling Amora's stomach with butterflies. She watched as Draco grabbed some parchment and a quill, scribbling onto it as quickly as possible. She quirked a brow, looking around the room. Just like their common room, which Draco had practically dragged Amora through at lightning speed, it was dark and adorned with green accents.

Amora perched on the end of Draco's bed, smoothing her hands across his clean bedsheets. She noticed a couple of books perched neatly on his bedside table, alongside his cologne, and a half-filled goblet of water. It was quite bare, most of his possessions tucked away in his trunk or in the safety of his home back in Wiltshire.

"What are you doing?" Amora asked him as he finally stopped with his scribbling and enveloped his work.

"Writing to Blaise," Draco muttered as he concentrated on writing the boy's name on the front. "Telling him not to let Crabbe and Goyle near the dorm for the next six hours."

Amora blushed slightly. "You might want to tell him why. That sounds quite... suggestive."

"My business is not theirs," Draco muttered, not glancing at her as he yanked open the door and stuck his head out of it. "Oi! Baddock! Come here now."

Amora craned her neck to peek but couldn't see anything past Draco's back. A first-year came rushing to the door, looking exceptionally nervous to be in the presence of Draco, especially when summoned himself. His cheeks were red and his hands played with each other behind his back as he peered up at him anxiously.

"Yes, Malfoy?" He squeaked.

"Hand this to Zabini for me," Draco ordered firmly, "He's in the Great Hall. And don't you dare even think about looking at it. If you do, I will know."

Malcolm Baddock nodded quickly before rushing off, eager not to upset Draco. Draco shut the door and turned back around, this time looking at Amora. His eyes softened at her nervous form perched on top of his bed, and with a few strides of his long legs, he was sitting down beside her. Amora glanced at the floor until she felt his hand under her chin, forcing her to look up at him.

"Now, tell me what happened," Draco demanded, "Relax first, though. You look as though I'm holding my wand to your throat or something."

Amora managed to crack a small smile at his attempt to lighten the mood.

"Leon put Veritaserum in my honey," she told him, her tongue moving with a mind of its own. "He's been trying to figure out where I've been going for months now. He's been acting more like a father than a friend. Demanding me to tell him where I've been, if I'm meeting up with people."

"How did all of this start, though?" Draco frowned, nose scrunched as he thought about Amora's supposed best friend. "Does he not realise what the Ministry would do if they ever found out he'd been messing around with truth serum?"

"I think I saw him knicking it from Snape a couple of weeks ago," Amora admitted, "And then, yesterday, I think he tried to get me drunk to confess. But it didn't work, so--"

"Drunk?" Draco cut her off, his gaze hardening completely. "He tried to get you drunk?" His voice rose in a way that it hadn't with Amora in months.

"W-Well, I mean, we were all doing it," Amora attempted to excuse her friend. "But, come to think of it, Leon had been giving me some of his Firewhisky too, and then afterwards he tried asking me where I had been after lessons, who I had been with. I think he thought I would spill if I was tipsy!"

Draco brushed off the disbelief inside him that the Hufflepuffs had been drinking, focusing more around the fact that Amora had said Leon had taken advantage of her being drunk and tried getting answers out of her.

His grey eyes grew dark like storms and he swallowed harshly, trying not to say something he might regret. He wanted to call Leon every curse word under the sun, but he wasn't sure Amora would appreciate it too much.

"Right." He attempted to collect all of his thoughts. "So he got no answers out of you and became desperate enough to... to spike you with Veritaserum?"

"Yes," Amora nodded, "But Cedric grabbed me before I could even have my second spoonful and took me away from Leon. He's looking for me though. No doubt to finally get some answers out of me."

"That bastard," Draco spat, not holding back anymore as he stood from the bed and ran a hand through his platinum hair. "Amora, I'm sorry, but that... friend of yours is nothing but a meddling piece of shit! He could have just put both our arses on the line!"

"I know," Amora murmured quietly, frowning. "I didn't think he'd ever do anything like this... Kathy told me he's just been worried about me. He's always hated Slytherins, though. As soon as he found I was sort of friends with Pansy, he's been adamant that I stop speaking with her. Or- Or when--" Amora covered her hands with her mouth, managing to muffle her next words with her hands.

Draco turned, looking at her curiously. "Or when what, Amora?" He questioned, tone a little harsher than usual, peeling her hand away.

"When I used to have a crush on Blaise," Amora blurted, wincing immediately after and cursing the Veritaserum coursing through her system. "B-Back in first year!" She prayed for her tongue to stop. "And second. And the start of third year. Oh my gosh, shut up, Amora!"

Draco's face flashed all sorts of emotions. Confusion, and then anger, and then hurt. He masked it all in a few seconds, turning his back to her to look out of the large windows that showed the inside of the Black Lake. Amora felt her breathing pick up.

"I'm sorry!" Amora cried, "I don't like him like that anymore, Draco. Honest. I only like you."

Part of him thought he wouldn't have believed her under circumstances where she wasn't under the Veritaserum. However, she was, and so he did believe her.

Even if she didn't have the truth serum filtering around her veins, her tone was desperate and pleading with him. It made him uncomfortable to know she'd liked Blaise before she liked him, but there was nothing he could do about that anymore.

Draco turned around to face her, seeing that her cheeks were coated with tears. His icy eyes widened. It was possibly the most gut-wrenching sight that Draco had ever seen. And every time he saw it, it hurt even more.

He'd only seen Amora cry three times before. The first had been in the Hospital Wing after the Whomping Willow incident, the second on top of the Astronomy Tower after the Yule Ball where they'd shared their first kiss, and the last time had been when they'd fought and he'd called her a 'cry baby' and said he was glad they weren't together.

"I don't like this!" Amora whimpered, "I don't like hurting people. First my own mother, and now you! A-And I didn't mean to, Draco. Please, please make me stop saying all of this--"

Before she could finish, Draco was sat back down beside her. He cupped her face in his hands and peered into her eyes. As a tear fell, he moved his fingers to wipe it away, his brows furrowed and his heart aching.

"Shh," he murmured, "Amora, you can't help this. I know you don't like Blaise like that anymore, and I'm sure that your mother will forgive you for whatever you said. But this will all stop in a few hours, okay?"

"Okay," Amora nodded in a small whisper, leaning her forehead against his as he wiped away the last of her hot tears. "Thank you, Draco."

"Of course, darling."

Both of their eyes widened and their foreheads moved away from one another. Draco's cheeks went red and his hands slowly fell away from Amora. Amora blushed a little as well, offering him a small smile.

"Darling?" She repeated quietly.

"It felt right at the time," Draco muttered, a certain bitterness to his tone as he became defensive.

Amora could nearly feel the way he was mentally about to withdraw himself, and so her hand reached for his and she grasped his cold palm, squeezing it in a reassuring manner as if to tell him she didn't mind the pet name he had accidentally given her. Draco didn't look at her but squeezed her hand gently back as if to confirm that he was working on it.

"I hope you understand that Holloway won't just get away with this, though," the Malfoy boy huffed lightly as he peeled his hand away and moved towards his bedside drawer, grabbing out a couple of Potions books. "It's either I go to my father about this, or I deal with it myself. I'll give you the courtesy of choosing for yourself."

Amora raised her brows. "What are you going to tell your father, hm? As if your father would care that I was given Veritaserum by another student. He hates me."

"He doesn't hate you, he hates your mother," Draco replied before his face shifted. "Well... I mean, he's not a fan of you, I suppose, but my father would happily interfere if it meant making Dumbledore look bad. However, maybe it would get the point across better if we were to get some revenge on him ourselves..."

Before he could flip open the book on his lap, Amora's hand outstretched and landed on top of the hardcover, stopping him from doing so. Draco glanced up with raised eyebrows, his lips curled.

"You don't have a choice in the matter, Amora," Draco nearly hissed, "Holloway will regret messing with you."

"Draco..."

"You had no issues coming up with hexes for Crabbe and Goyle when they messed with you," Draco reminded her darkly. "I'd say this is a lot worse and requires much more severe consequences."

"But Crabbe and Goyle aren't supposed to be my best friend," Amora reminded him painfully, "I'm sure Leon's intentions weren't malicious..."

"You cannot give me that bullshit." He rolled his stormy eyes. "He would have happily allowed you to blurt your darkest secrets to the entire Great Hall."

"I know, but..." Amora had no excuses for him either.

She was furious with Leon, of course she was, however, unlike Draco and Cedric, Amora actually pitied him slightly. It was out of character for him to act like this, so she couldn't imagine how desperate he must have been feeling. She felt like a bad friend for brushing him off for months on end, and it had all led to this.

"Amora." Draco cupped her chin and directed her eyes to his. "You said Holloway stole from Snape a couple of weeks ago? This wasn't some sort of last-minute resort type of thing. He'd been conspiring this. Probably longer than two weeks, if you think about it. He would have had to wait for the perfect time to steal from Snape's office."

Amora frowned deeply, looking down, only for Draco's hands to tug her face back up. She was surprised at how serious he appeared.

"You show Holloway no remorse," he warned her slowly, eyes dark. "You don't listen to his apologies, he's not worth your time anymore. You're above him."

She blinked at him, taking a deep breath as she processed all of his words. Amora attempted to make herself believe the words. She knew it was for the best. She shouldn't forgive him for this; he would just walk over her again. Draco was right, he just wasn't sugarcoating it like she was used to from everyone else. 

Draco shifted back, away from Amora so that his back was resting against his pillows. He grabbed her waist and tugged her closer, so she was cuddled up to him. Amora's eyes widened a little but she relaxed against him, shifting so she could rest her head on his chest instead of on his arm. They had never cuddled quite like this before and Amora had never felt so safe and reassured in her entire life.

His hand was hesitant to land on her bare arm as if he would break her simply by touching her. However, once his palm had touched her sunkissed skin, he melted into her. Draco's slender fingers smoothed relaxing circles across her arm and he felt her arm wrap around his torso. It was a strange feeling to be hugged by someone other than his mother, and whilst it was scary, he knew he could grow to really love this.

Her hair was close to his nose and smelt faintly of some sort of berry-scented shampoo, but also the perfume she wore all the time. It wasn't an overly-strong scent and reminded him of fresh linen, perhaps a little floral too. Amora was silent from on top of his chest, her eyes staring at his bedside table.

She thought about everything he had said to her when she was drunk. About how she was a bitch for not wanting to go to the Yule Ball with Harry, or that she should just get over the Whomping Willow incident.

"Leon's Boggart was being alone," Amora murmured after a couple of minutes, confusing Draco. "I don't think he needs to be hexed, Draco. Losing me should be enough."

Draco furrowed his brows, holding Amora a little tighter when he realised what she meant. Amora was finished with Leon. 

D.M + A.B 

Three hours went by. Amora had ended up sleeping off the remaining grogginess she felt from her hangover, napping in the comfort of Draco's arms as he used his free hand to read some huge novel with a dragon on the cover. She blinked awake, feeling well-rested and a lot calmer than before. Shifting on Draco's chest, the pale boy stopped with the soothing circles on her arm, peering down at her.

"You're awake," Draco murmured, setting his book down on the mattress beside them.

"How long was I asleep for?" Amora murmured, rubbing her eyes. "I didn't mean to fall asleep."

"Only a few hours," Draco said, shifting so they could both sit up properly.

Immediately, they both missed the warmth that the other provided, even if it was early June and it was the hottest it had been all year. Amora sat up and rubbed her eyes, thankful that Zena had plaited her hair that morning; otherwise it would most likely look like a bird's nest.

"Can I use your bathroom?" She asked.

"Mhm."

Amora moved to the only other door in the dormitory that she knew didn't lead out into the hallway. She pushed open the bathroom door and closed it behind her. Splashing some water into her face, Amora inspected herself in the mirror and was glad to find that she still looked decent.

She pushed open the door to the dormitory and found that Draco was neatly putting his book back into place on his bedside table. He looked over his shoulder when he heard Amora reenter, sending her a pursed-lipped smile.

"I'm sorry I'm taking up you're entire Saturday," Amora murmured as she moved after to him, wrapping her arms around his torso and burying her head against his chest. Draco held her.

"It's not your fault," he said, "Besides, I've quite enjoyed it so far."

"Mhm. Enjoyed being cooped up in your dorm whilst I sleep?" Amora spoke in disbelief.

"You're quite a beautiful sleeper," Draco whispered, leaning down and connecting their lips.

Just as his hand moved to cup the back of her head and bring her even closer to him, the door to the dormitory flung open and they ripped apart, eyes wide. Relief flooded their veins when they both realised that it was just Blaise, Theo, and even Pansy. Blaise and Pansy seemed to smirk at the position they had caught them in.

"So what's all this about you sneaking a Hufflepuff into the Slytherin dungeons, hmm?" Blaise grinned between them both. "Malfoys' breaking all the rules for--"

"Shut up, Blaise," Draco snapped, removing his arms from Amora. "Now shut the bloody door before someone walks past and sees Amora in here."

Theo rolled his eyes and shut the door, moving to sit on the bed next to Draco's with Blaise. Amora assumed it belonged to one of them. Pansy stood against one of the wooden four posters, her arms folded against her chest. Amora sent the Slytherin girl a small smile which Pansy nodded to in return.

"If you must know, I'm having to hide Amora in here," Draco seethed, spiking all of their interests. "Holloway slipped her Veritaserum."

"What?" Theo and Blaise both jumped at the same time, Pansy's frown deepening.

"Holloway? As in your best mate?" Pansy snapped at Amora.

Amora nodded timidly. "He was trying to get me to tell him where I've been going and who I've been meeting up with."

It took a couple of minutes to explain everything, and then a little longer for Amora to convince them that hexing Leon wasn't worth it and that she would deal with him herself.

Amora, truthfully, didn't mind Draco's friends, other than Crabbe and Goyle, of course. Although, since they'd hurt her after the Yule Ball, Draco didn't seem to hang around with them as much anymore.

"If I were you, I would have hexed him into next week, Buckley," Pansy huffed, "I do hope you don't plan on acting like besties with him after this?"

Amora hesitated. "Well, I suppose we'll have to remain civil, being housemates and all--"

"No way!" Pansy cried, outraged. "Who gives a shit if you're housemates? Buckley, if he's going to go to the extremes of slipping you Veritaserum, then you need to go to the extremes of cutting him out of your life."

For once, Draco didn't seem agitated by Pansy's presence. Instead, he nodded, giving a pointed look to Amora as if to tell her that Pansy knew what she was talking about.

As far as Amora was concerned, the friendship between Draco and Pansy was a strange one. Pansy buttered up to him for the sake of her parents, and Draco didn't like it. Whether or not Draco knew she was gay, Amora didn't know, but either way, she thought perhaps they were so similar that they often clashed.

"But..." Amora chewed her bottom lip. "I-- he's been my best friend since the first year--"

"Not anymore," Theo cut her off.

Amora felt like her heart was breaking. She knew all it would take was one person to tell her that maybe he deserved another chance and she would end up giving it to Leon, but none of the Slytherins seemed to deem him worthy enough of one. She swallowed harshly.

"He did it to himself, Amora," Blaise reminded her. "Stick up for yourself. You showed us full well that you could stick up for others when you tossed that water over Goyle's head at the Yule Ball--"

"Or when you attacked me in the second year for calling Granger a Mud--" Draco cut himself off when Amora glared at him. "A mean name."

Blaise rolled his eyes. "Point is, Buckley, now it's your turn to stick up for yourself."

More hours passed. Amora enjoyed sitting in the Slytherin boys' dormitory, glued to Draco's side as she watched him interact with his friends. She kept mostly silent, not wanting to open her mouth too much with the Veritaserum flooding her veins, but she managed to laugh and joke around in all of the appropriate places. It was different from hanging out with the Hufflepuffs, but not necessarily in a bad way. She really liked Pansy, Blaise, and Theo. And it was nice not to hide her relationship with Draco in front of people.

"What time is it?" She asked when a comfortable silence settled over the group.

Blaise checked the watch around his wrist. "It's three in the afternoon."

"What's it been?" Theo furrowed his brows. "Nearly six hours now?"

Amora nodded eagerly. "Somebody ask me something I can lie about."

Pansy shifted some of her black bob behind her ear. "Buckley, what school do you go to?"

"Beauxbatons," Amora lied, everybody's eyes widening in surprise when the words escaped her lips. "Oh my gosh!"

In her excitement, she jumped to her knees on Draco's bed and squeezed him into a tight hug. Draco had barely any time to react before she'd bounded up and flung her arms around Blaise and Theo, squeezing them too and then Pansy, who stood frozen with her arms pinned to her side, eyes wide.

Amora grinned, teeth and all, bouncing on her heels. "I owe you guys everything," she said sincerely, "Thank you all, honestly."

"It's fine, Amora," Theo shrugged.

"No, I'm being serious. If any of you need anything in the future then I'll be more than happy to help in any way that I can," she promised them all.

"Same goes for you, Amora," Draco said, "I meant it when I called you our honorary Slytherin. We've got your back now, like one of our own."

Amora's heart swelled in her chest, especially when the others seemed to nod in agreement. She knew that things between her and Leon would never be the same again, yet she couldn't help feeling like she'd come out of this mess with new friends too. 

D.M + A.B

"Amora!"

The brunette glanced up from her space beside Cedric as she entered the Hufflepuff common room, glad to find it was Kathy running towards her and not Leon. The curly-haired girl flung her arms around Amora and tugged her into a squeezing hug. Amora held her back.

"I am so sorry," Kathy panicked as she pulled away. "I had no idea that Leon had been planning to do this! He came asking for you this morning, and he admitted what he had done. He was completely freaking out, he's so sorry--"

"You don't need to hear this, Amora," Cedric grumbled, pushing Amora gently away with Kathy. "I don't care if that boy gets down on his knees and sobs for your forgiveness, Amora, you're going to tell him to leave you alone unless he wants Professor Dumbledore involved."

Amora swallowed nervously, nodding weakly in agreement to the small plan her cousin had come up for her once he'd come to find her outside the Slytherin common room where he'd awkwardly thanked Draco and then tugged her away.

Her heart pounded when her eyes landed on a familiar mop of brown hair, her breath nearly caught in her throat. It was much easier said than done to just leave her friend of nearly five years, but as soon as Amora got a glimpse of his panicked face, all she felt was pure anger and resentment. He rushed towards her.

"Amora! Amora, I am so--"

Amora shoved Leon by the chest, watching as he stumbled back. She clenched her jaw. "Don't even bother with the apologies, Leon. You're not sorry for putting Veritaserum in my breakfast, you're only sorry that you got caught before asking me the question you've been dying to ask me."

Leon stared at her, his brown eyes filling with tears. "Amora--" His voice cracked.

"I told you not to bother," Amora spat, "Don't talk to me ever again, Leon. I hate you. And that's the truth."


	39. Chapter 39

Days passed where Amora pretended that Leon didn't exist and Leon did the same. He'd given up trying to apologise, realising that, for the first time ever, Amora was sticking to her word. Nothing he said to her seemed to mend the friendship he'd managed to tear apart, and so he was forced to watch her keep to herself, occasionally talking to the Golden Trio and eating with Cedric.

The third task was approaching quickly. Next week, it would all be over and done with. The thought filled Amora with an indescribable amount of anxiety. Whilst at the start she had tried to remain unbiased, she had to admit that, now, all she wanted was for her cousin to win the tournament. She would only be satisfied with second place if he lost to Harry, who she'd been seeing less and less of recently.

She was pretty sure that Harry, Ron, and Hermione knew Leon and Amora weren't speaking with each other, but none of them had bothered to ask. Amora wasn't sure what she would tell them anyway. She didn't exactly want to throw Leon under the bus and cause him to lose all of his friends. She still felt some sort of sympathy for him beneath her anger.

She supposed that she was able to sometimes separate her 'best friend Leon' with the boy who had nonconsensually given her Veritaserum to make her spill all her secrets.

"Come here." Hands grabbed her waist and pulled her close, lips hungrily attaching themselves to hers. "Mhm. Sweet like honey."

Amora's lips quirked up a little as she pulled away, rolling her eyes in amusement as Draco's fingers pushed back her soft brown hair. He seemed to admire her face for a few seconds as he brushed her cheekbone with his thumb.

"Leon been bugging you?" Draco murmured.

"Nope," Amora whispered, "I think he's got the message."

"Good."

Draco's lips attached to hers again, her arms flinging up to rest on his shoulders, her hands in the back of his platinum hair. Her fingers grazed his scalp, the taller boy shuddering against her. As his tongue swiped her bottom lip, a figure came around the corner of the desolate hallway and nearly rushed straight into them.

"Merlin's beard!" Cedric practically shrieked, looking as though he was about to vomit. "The two of you are getting lazy."

Draco wasn't the biggest fan of Cedric but bit back a sarcastic remark for the sake of Amora who was blushing furiously, embarrassed to be caught kissing her boyfriend by her cousin. Cedric adjusted the Hufflepuff tie around his neck and raised his brows at them.

"I could easily give the two of you a detention for skipping class," he muttered.

"Ah, but you love me too much, don't you, Cedric?" Amora teased him.

Cedric glared and ruffled her hair before looking to Draco and giving him a short nod of acknowledgement. She watched as he moved down the halls, smiling until his tall figure disappeared. 

Draco studied the expression on her face and realised how much she cared about her cousin. Draco himself had a lot of family, some of which he didn't know nor intended on knowing, and he wasn't close to any of them like Amora was Cedric.

"Hey." Amora traced her fingers along his jaw, snapping him out of his trance. "Cedric is right, by the way. We are getting too lazy keeping this a secret. There was a one in a bazillion chance of that being Cedric, and we got lucky this time."

"Yeah, I know," Draco sighed, "Sometimes... I wish we didn't have to keep us a secret."

"Me too," Amora murmured, her arms wrapping back around his neck innocently as his hands held her waist. "Except I think about it all the time. What it would be like to walk through the Great Hall holding hands, or for our friends to get along. Not that I have many of those nowadays."

"Hey," Draco said sternly, "My friends are your friends now, remember?"

He knew exactly how upset not having a best friend by her side had been making her. Amora never outwardly said it, but he caught her during meal times sneaking glances towards the fourth-year Hufflepuffs whilst she sat with Cedric and his friends. Amora told him Kathy had taken 'nobody's side', but remained clinging to Leon as if he was the last man on earth. Seeing Leon laugh at the table with everybody else made Draco furious.

It should be Amora sat with them whilst Leon sat to the side sadly, yet somehow, Leon had still ended up the most popular of the two inside the Hufflepuff house. Not that anybody really knew what was going on between Leon and Amora, just that they had fallen out and things weren't looking good.

"I know, and I really appreciate it... it's just not the same," Amora admitted with a shy smile. "Like, it's driven a sort of wedge between Kathy and me since, without Leon, we weren't really that close. She still smiles at me and stuff, and I trust that she'll keep our secret, but... I don't know what I'm trying to say."

It was normally Draco that didn't know what to say. He understood her and offered her a small nod, his thumb rubbing circles on her waist where her shirt tucked into her school skirt. And somehow that was enough for Amora to hold onto for now.

D.M + A.B

Amora's brows knitted together, a soft frown on her face as she finished revising for the end of year exam she had next period in Divination. She used to like Divination, being sat on a table with Harry, Ron, and Leon, but for the past few weeks, it had been less than thrilling. Leon and Amora acted as though each other didn't exist, and Ron and Harry, being Ron and Harry, didn't even notice, of course. 

The library was one of the only places she could be without feeling like Leon was staring at her, and so she sucked up all of the free time that she could get. She nearly groaned when she heard somebody pull out the chair in front of her and a bag was dropped down on top of her work. 

"Excuse--" Amora's voice was cut off when she saw the familiar smirk of Pansy. 

"You were saying, Amora?" Pansy raised her brows, daring Amora to finish her sentence. 

The brunette scoffed and shook her head with a small chuckle. "Thought you were going to be someone else. What's in the bag?"

"It's for you," Pansy said, "Open it... discreetly."

Amora was slightly worried about what would be inside, a frown on her face as she peered into the cotton bag and tugged out part of what looked like a Hogwarts robe. Amora's eyes widened at the green outlining it, as well as the Slytherin crest on the side. There was also a tie and a vest top. 

"Pansy, what--"

"My uniform from last year," Pansy shrugged, "Figured as our honorary Slytherin, you'd need some green on you if you're going to keep on sneaking into the dorms."

Amora blushed. "I wasn't planning on abusing the fact that you guys allowed me inside to help. I know it's a big deal for Slytherins to be allowed inside."

Pansy rolled her eyes. "Oh, save the sweet words, Buckley. We all agreed it would be cool to have you around. Especially now that you don't even feel home in your own dorms. Oh, and Theo's been working on a spell to jinx the door and keep Crabbe and Goyle out. He keeps testing it. It's quite funny, actually, watching those two airheads wonder why they can't get in."

Amora opened her mouth, but Pansy cut her off. "And don't come at me with some sappy 'but I don't want to drive Crabbe and Goyle out of their own dorms'. It won't be all the time, obviously. We just thought, if you ever need to sneak in, we would make it easier for you."

Amora blinked. "I don't understand..."

"Well, you see, Buckley, you grab the tie first, and you wrap it--"

"No, no," Amora cut off Pansy's sarcasm with a small smile. "I just... This is all incredibly sweet of you all. I don't understand what I've done to win you over like this."

Pansy shrugged, squinting her eyes. "Me either, Buckley. But we like you. So we're keeping you. No discussion about it."

Amora's grin brightened. 

D.M + A.B

Above Amora, the sky was a deep blue, the kind that began to beckon the darkness forward, and if she squinted, she could make out a couple of stars that were beginning to grow visible. Her heart felt heavy in her chest as she grinned, rubbing her hands anxiously together. It was a warm evening, laughter and excited chatter going on all around her and helping to dull the anxiety she was experiencing.

The mustard yellow jumper that she had tucked into a pair of black mom jeans was intended to show support for Cedric, however, Amora merely blended in with all of the other eager Hufflepuffs surrounding her in the stands. People were holding banners and posters reading things like 'CEDRIC DIGGORY THE TRUE CHAMPION' and everything along those lines, all themed the Hufflepuff house colours.

The Hogwarts March boomed proudly throughout what had been the Quidditch pitch, creating a sort of cheery atmosphere that had Amora beaming from next to all of Cedric's friends. Everybody cheered as the champions came out from underneath the stands, and Amora stood and yelled like everybody else when Cedric emerged, sporting a black and yellow striped top.

"Go on, Cedric!" Benny bellowed from next to Amora.

Amora clapped for Harry, too, who came out last and the most nervously of them all. Nobody settled for a while, until Dumbledore took his potion behind a wooden podium in front of them and raised his wand to his neck in order to echo his following words.

"Silence!" His booming yell caused the cheers to cease and the music to fade, Amora sitting down in her seat alongside everybody else. "Earlier today, Professor Moody placed the Triwizard Cup deep within the maze. Only he knows of its exact position. Now, as Mr Diggory--"

Professor Dumbledore was cut off by an uproar from the Hufflepuffs who immediately jumped back onto their feet to celebrate. Cedric appeared bashful as his father raised his arm high into the air, beaming proudly. Amora grinned down at him and offered him a wave, which Cedric returned, sending her a small wink too, before yanking his hand from his father in embarrassment.

"--And Mr Potter..." There were roars from the Gryffindors this time. "Are tied for first position, they will be the first to enter the maze, followed by Mr Krum and Miss Delacour."

The other students also got their roars of approval, Krum winning most of the Slytherins too. Draco looked pleased, waving his hand in the air. On the other side of Blaise and Theo, Crabbe sat with 'KRUM' written across his forehead in red pen, looking as though it was a last-minute idea before he left from the Great Hall that evening.

"The first person to touch the cup will be the winner!" Dumbledore announced, "I have instructed the staff to patrol the perimeter, should, at any point, a contestant wish to withdraw from the task, he or she need only send up red sparks with their wands." He backed from the podium and gathered around the champions.

Amora played with her hands nervously, never taking her eyes off of Cedric for a second. In the next hour, it was completely plausible that her cousin would be the next Triwizard Champion, and her stomach bubbled with a mixture of anxiety and excitement at the prospect.

She watched Dumbledore gather Harry, Cedric, Krum, and Fleur close together, murmuring something to them all, before he moved back and waved his hands in the air, his voice booming for everybody to hear once again.

"Champions, prepare yourselves!" Dumbledore demanded and everybody cheered as they each went to different gaps of the maze that Cedric had told Amora about a few weeks ago. "On the count of three... One--"

Dumbledore was cut off by Filch accidentally releasing a premature canon, causing a small number of screams nearby. He shrugged at the headmaster as Hogwarts March began to play again, and Cedric and Harry were gone.

It felt like her heart had stopped when the green hedges merged together, shielding one of her closest friends and her cousin from her. Now, it was all up to them what happened. Who won. Amora couldn't offer any advice or send reassuring smiles their way. Whatever was going to happen would happen. Krum was next to leave, and then Fleur.

"This is the most boring task yet," Benny complained from beside her. "They should have saved the dragon task for last. That was the best one."

The rest of Cedric's friends made murmurs of agreement. Amora had to beg to differ. She definitely had not enjoyed the first task; she'd been on the verge of a panic attack the entire time, watching Cedric barely escape the flames of his dragon. The second task had been the best, and that was purely due to the fact that she didn't have to witness anything-- she'd been unconscious for the entire hour.

Staring out at the maze, Amora wondered what Cedric was doing, or rather what obstacles he was facing. She thought about Harry too and hoped that he was okay. Time went by agonisingly slow, Amora cut off from Cedric's friends who chatted excitedly to one another next to her. Her housemates in her year sat a couple of rows below, talking too. Amora glared at the back of Leon as Kathy rested her head on his shoulder and he played with her hair.

When the first red flare shot into the sky, Amora's breath was hitched in her throat. Everybody sat on the edges of their seats, waiting anxiously to see who was the first to leave. Amora caught a glimpse of blonde hair and heard the sympathetic claps of the Beauxbatons, her heart resting in her chest as she prayed the next out would be Krum.

Her wish was granted later. Krum was next. The Durmstrang boys yelled furiously, stomping their feet. Lots of them were saying that the entire thing was a set up so either Cedric or Harry could win, leaving Hogwarts victorious. Like a mockery of their schools or something.

Amora glanced across, seeing Ron and Hermione sitting with the rest of the Weasleys. Hermione waved Amora over with a nervous smile and Amora was glad to see that she wasn't the only one who was anxious. She moved over and Ron shuffled up, allowing for the Hufflepuff to sit in between them.

"Just Harry and Cedric now," Ron said worriedly.

Amora's hands moved to her hair and she began to create the small knots. Hermione grabbed it gently and lowered it, sending her a look of warning.

"Either way, whoever wins, I'm sure the other will be perfectly fine with second place," Hermione said, her tone sort of breathless. "Both Harry and Cedric are very understanding people."

Amora nodded quickly, moving to chew on her thumbnail instead. Hermione allowed that but grabbed Amora's hand with the other. It felt like an eternity went past. Amora waited for something- anything-- to happen. For a red spark, for Dumbledore to say something...

By now, the rest of the students were becoming restless too, the Hogwarts students also nervous to see who would win. It was growing quieter in the stands, people only saying something when they insisted they'd seen something move within the maze, or to place bets and share conspiracies.

Suddenly, there was a flash.

Amora jumped up, her eyes landing on a swirl of yellow and red, and she, alongside most others, screamed in glee at the sight of Harry and Cedric together, the Triwizard Cup scattered to the side. She swore she had never been so grateful in her life as Hermione hugged her side. Amora laughed blissfully, clapping her hands together and jumping up and down whilst the Hogwarts March played once more.

Cedric Diggory and Harry Potter-- both champions! It couldn't have played out any better than this.

Fred grabbed her arm and began to lead her down the stairs alongside some of the other students, their cheers filling her ears. Amora's smile was wiped off slowly, an unsure expression reaching her face as she looked down at Harry and Cedric, this time properly. It was as if as soon as she laid eyes on her cousin, she knew. Something was wrong.

Cedric wasn't moving, and now, the closer she looked, she realised that Harry wasn't smiling-- he was sobbing on top of her cousin, his wand in his hand and a desperate look on his face. Amora blinked, and then she blinked again. She tugged herself from Fred's excited grip as soon as she heard the heart-wrenching scream of Fleur.

"No..." Amora whispered.

Racing past everybody huddled towards the bottom of the stairs, Amora pushed Professor Snape out of the way, not caring of the consequences, a loud sob passing her lips when she found Professor Dumbledore trying to tug Harry away from Cedric. She dropped to her knees beside her cousin, silent tears streaming as she looked into his pale, lifeless eyes.

Cedric was dead.

"No, no!" Harry sobbed, trying to claw Dumbledore off of him and get back to Cedric, the music and clapping halting as people began to realise that something wasn't right. "He's back. He's back! Voldemort's back. Cedric, he asked me to bring his body back."

Amora choked, her hand covering her mouth as kneeled opposite Harry on the other side of Cedric, finally tearing her eyes away from her cousin to look at Harry. He looked back at her, his green eyes swimming with tears. She couldn't even process anything he'd said about Voldemort, or Cedric supposedly telling Harry to bring his body back, all she could pick up on was that Cedric was dead.

"I'm sorry, Amora." Harry struggled to breathe. "Amora, I'm sorry. I couldn't just leave him, not there."

Amora tore her gaze away from Harry, hot tears leaking down her cheeks fast and hard. She buried her face into Cedric's shirt, knowing that this would be the last time. Hands grabbed her back, trying to pull her gently away, but Amora suddenly turned and pushed their hands, meeting the sympathetic eyes of her mother.

"Get off of me," Amora howled, "Go away, go away."

Professor Buckley shed tears over her nephew but kept a reassuring hand on Amora's shoulder as teachers and other adults crowded them, hiding Cedric from the crowds of students.

"The body must be moved, Dumbledore. There are too many people," Fudge warned.

Amora's eyes snapped up to face him, already red and pained. "'The body' is Cedric!" She hissed at him, hearing gasps come from the students who hadn't realised he was dead. "That is my cousin. That's Cedric."

"Let me through!" Uncle Amos' voice cried, and he came stumbling over, dropping down on the grass beside Amora and his sister.

Professor Buckley pulled Amora back this time, hugging her close to her body as Amos began to cry. "That's my son!" He howled, "That's my boy! It's my boy!"

His wails were heard clearly above Harry and Amora's sobs, into the night air that had turned cold like a switch. Amora buried her face in her mother's arms as Amos grabbed Cedric's body and held his son to him.

"No!" His cries left not a single person with dry eyes. "No!"

"Amos," Professor Buckley released her daughter momentarily to get to her brother, and she pulled him back and hugged him. "It's alright, Amos."

Amora didn't watch her mother try to console her uncle, but instead moved back to Cedric and cried harder, grabbing his hand from the grass and giving it a squeeze. She had never even gotten the chance to give him a proper goodbye, but she supposed that was the way that life worked.

There would be no jumping the waves outside her house this summer. She wouldn't join him for breakfast in the morning. No more boxing days with her favourite cousin.

Cedric Diggory was gone and he had left Amora behind.


	40. Chapter 40

Cedric is dead.

The words replayed around Amora's head like a broken record and all she wanted to do was rip off the needle or smash it to pieces. Anything to stop seeing her cousin's lifeless eyes staring back up at her whenever she blinked for more than a second.

It had been one hour. Everybody had been sent to their common rooms. Amora didn't know where Harry was, but he was probably answering questions. Amora had a lot for him, but right now, all she could do was mourn. The wound was fresh and bitter and filled her with sickening rage.

"Amora?" Professor Buckley's eyes were red too, but she was a lot better at covering her sadness up for the sake of her daughter and her brother. "Amora, do you want to talk to me about it?"

Amora clamped her mouth shut to prevent loud sobs from belting out and she shook her head, clenching her eyes shut. More tears fell, squeezing past her wet eyelashes and making her cheeks sore.

"Come here." There was a heavy sigh and then she was pulled into her mother's arms again. "I have to go and see Uncle Amos in a few minutes. Would you like to come?"

"No," Amora sobbed, shaking her head. "I can't."

She couldn't stand to see her uncle cry. She didn't want to hear the same wails that had echoed for what felt like hours on the Quidditch pitch. Amora just wanted to bury her head into her pillow and never leave it.

Eventually, Professor Buckley had managed to calm her down through a mixture of motherly caresses and gentle words. She left Amora sitting in the comfortable teacher's seat of the Muggle Studies classroom. She kissed her forehead and promised to return with something for her to eat and drink. Not that Amora believed she could stomach it.

Amora rubbed at her eyes with her palms. They ached and felt sore from all the crying she had been doing, and even then, she still felt like she could cry for hours longer. Her heart had never ached so badly in her life; she'd never experienced this sort of loss before.

The worst part was knowing that Cedric's death was obviously a permanent thing; she could wait all she wanted for him to come back, but he never would.

Amora stumbled from her seat, reaching for the door handle and twisting it open. It was June, but the corridor felt cold. She wandered down it aimlessly, small sniffles following every corner she turned, every staircase she wandered up.

It was silent. So silent until she bumped into him.

"Amora," Leon gasped, his hands steadying her. "Amora, are you okay?"

His hair was dishevelled and he appeared paler than usual, eyes slightly red and swollen. Amora was glad that she hadn't been shoved into the Hufflepuff common room with everybody else. Watching them cry over her cousin would only make it worse.

Amora swallowed thickly. "What do you think?" Her voice broke as if her record player was scratched beyond repair.

Leon's face melted. "I know, I know. That was a stupid question, I'm sorry. I'm sorry about everything, Amora. I'm sorry about Cedric—"

"Don't say that," Amora cut him off, clenching her eyes shut. It made it feel so much more real.

The brunet shuffled awkwardly for a moment. He didn't know what to say, that much was obvious.

"Amora," Leon breathed, "Do you want a hug?"

"No," Amora said, Leon's face falling.

"Do you need me to walk you to the common room? I can get your mother for you, or—"

You don't need to hear this, Amora, Cedric's words echoed in her head loud and clear and added fury to her sadness.

"I told you what I wanted weeks ago, Leon," Amora replied desperately, tears streaming again. Her record was caught on replay. "I told you to never speak to me again. I told you that I hated you. A-And now you have a guilty conscience so you want to help me, but I don't want your help. You can't help me how I need!"

Because right now, truthfully, all she needed was Cedric to come back and tell her that this was all just some sick nightmare.

"Amora, please, would you just let me—"

"Are you completely deaf or just ignorant, Holloway?" Draco's voice snapped from behind Amora, causing her to turn.

Seeing Draco stood there, still dressed in his black blazer and turtleneck, made her want to throw her arms around him and beg him to hold her whilst she cried. Having him stand nearby was a relief-- like she could finally breathe a little again. Her heart thumped painfully in her chest.

Leon glared, clenching his jaw. "Fuck off, Malfoy. Amora doesn't need this right now."

"Right," Draco agreed harshly, marching closer and grabbing Amora's arm. "She needs to be with people that actually care about her."

Amora buried her face into the crook between Draco's chest and arm, feeling him wrap said arm around her body and hold her close. His eyes did not peel from Leon who appeared a mixture of enraged and confused, eyes bulging at the sight of Amora looking so comfortable with Draco Malfoy.

"W-What–"

"She needs to be with people who won't slip her Veritaserum," Draco cut off Leon's startled stammer.

Leon's eyes looked like they were going to come out of their sockets. Amora felt breathless, knowing Draco had just given away everything to her old friend. Leon began to stutter as he staggered backwards a step, putting two and two together. That he hadn't been able to find Amora that day because Draco had been protecting her, because it was also his secret to hide.

Amora clenched her eyes shut, willing for the thoughts of Cedric to leave. She barely heard Leon turn and leave, all she knew next was that she was in an empty classroom and Draco had his arms around her. They sat against the teacher's desk, her back against his chest as he held her.

He let Amora cry into him from where she was twisted in his open legs, his large hands smoothing her out and his eyes holding pain and sympathy. He'd tried to get to her as soon as he heard her cries on the field and realised what had happened, but, like everyone else, he'd been pushed back to his common room. Draco had only just been able to escape unnoticed.

For Amora. Right now, he didn't care if anybody saw them or saw him caring for her. She needed him more than ever. It intimidated him greatly, seeing as he wasn't the best at comforting people and Amora had always been the talker between the two, but he was going to try his best. For Amora.

Draco had no clue what to say. He didn't want to say sorry; it was cheesy and it wouldn't help Amora who had just had her first-ever friend and only cousin tugged away so violently from her.

Draco began to hum as he brushed her hair. It was a song that he'd heard Amora sing a couple of times whilst they did homework together, and she instantly recognised it.

Her sobs quietened and she resorted to sniffles and small whimpers, trying to listen to Draco. His hums vibrated in his chest and moved through Amora from where she had her back to him. His hands caressed her arms before one moved up to push some hair out of her swollen eyes.

Amora found herself growing tired. Tired of thinking about Cedric, tired of crying and screaming. Draco could feel her dozing off in his arms, her heartbeat finally matching his. Draco began to sing quietly.

"The way that you glow; everybody knows, you've got a heart of gold. And mine is always broken, so I'll just paint it chrome; so you're not alone." 

D.M + A.B 

When Amora woke, she was nestled in the covers of her own bed and the sun filtered blindingly through the high windows near the ceilings. For a fleeting moment, Amora had no recollection of what had happened the day before, until she realised how badly her eyes stung and how sore her cheeks were. Her heart practically collapsed in her chest. It was like seeing Cedric's dead body for the first time all over again.

Amora remained staring up at her four-poster for what felt like years. Her body felt heavy like it was sinking deeper and deeper into the mattress below. Nothing felt real; it still felt like if she were to push open the door and walk into the common room, she would find Cedric sat on one of the couches laughing with all of his friends.

She seemingly had no tears left to cry. Amora realised this when she stood beneath the shower after forcing herself from the bed, her body shaking and her throat retching but no tears forming in her eyes. The effort she put into washing her hair and her body was minimal, only faint strokes of a luffa, the aroma of berries not bringing her its usual comfort.

Amora shook even as she brushed her teeth. When she looked in the mirror, her eyes appeared empty. Not the mahogany brown she was used to, but a colour much duller than that, and the skin that had been soaking beneath the sun for the last few months was paler than parchment.

She tugged on her school uniform, leaving her robe on her bed, and drifted out into the common room. Nobody was there, just like how nobody had been in the dorms. Amora went to the Muggle Studies classroom, ready to push open the door when she saw it was filled with students. Her mother was teaching a lesson.

It was bizarre because, whilst the world certainly felt as though it had stopped for Amora, it was still continuing to spin for everybody else, although a sombre feeling remained in the air.

Amora found herself outside the Hospital Wing next. She thought Harry might be there, and she was right. He sat surrounded by Ron, Hermione, Molly Weasley, another tall man with ginger hair, who Amora knew had to be one of Ron's brothers, and a black dog. Harry glanced up when he heard Amora's footsteps quietly moving towards him, but neither of them smiled at one another like usual.

"Hi, Harry," Amora spoke for the first time since she'd seen Leon last night, her voice coming out painfully scratchy and she saw Ron wince.

"Amora," Harry swallowed.

Molly was suddenly moving forward, wrapping her arms around Amora who flinched slightly but then melted into the woman's kind gesture. She made a tutting noise as she smoothed out Amora's hair before pulling away. Amora had never really spoken to Molly Weasley before, but she knew that their parents had been friends during the first war, and they always exchanged polite smiles at King's Cross.

"You poor thing," she muttered, patting Amora's shoulder and blinking back a few sympathetic tears of her own. "We will let you speak with Harry alone for a bit."

"Thanks," Amora croaked, watching as Hermione sent her a gentle smile and dragged Ron away, the other Weasley following them with a solemn expression of his own.

"I suppose you want to know what happened?" Harry asked quietly after Amora had taken the seat beside him, her eyes shifting to the black dog that was sat by Harry rather protectively.

She moved her hand to pet its head, but Harry interrupted her. "Amora, that's Sirius," he hissed in a whisper, and Amora tugged her hand back in a fright, her eyes wide. "He's an Animagus."

"Oh," Amora whispered, sending a small nod to Sirius and earning one back. "Did Dumbledore let him in?"

Harry had never told her much about Sirius, considering it was supposed to be a giant secret that Harry knew of his whereabouts, but considering he had left Amora beneath the Whomping Willow for his godfather, he decided it was only fair he told her a couple of things. She knew not to be afraid of Sirius Black.

"Dumbledore's been helping him all year," Harry replied in a hushed tone, careful of Madam Pomfrey who was minding her own business at the other end of the small hall. "And you were right, by the way."

Amora's brows furrowed. "About what?"

"About not being able to trust Moody," Harry admitted, his bottom lip nearly wobbling. "You were right and I should have listened to you."

"Moody killed Cedric?" Amora inhaled shakily, her eyes wide with horror.

She wasn't too sure she could listen to this.

"No, not directly," Harry said, his hand shaking so badly that Amora found herself reaching forward and grabbing it without thinking. She squeezed his hand and Harry returned the favour, the two of them silently saying that they would be there for one another.

"What happened, Harry?" Amora whispered, her eyes managing to fill with tears once again as she thought about how undeserving Cedric had been of his premature doom. "Please."

The dog-- or Sirius, rather-- nudged Harry with his nose as if to tell him that he shouldn't speak, or that he didn't have to if he didn't want to. Amora realised how traumatised Harry must be, having actually witnessed Cedric's death. She was about to withdraw her question and turn to somebody else for answers instead, but Harry shook his head at Sirius.

"It's okay," he said, "I want to let Amora know. She deserves to know."

"Harry--"

"It was Voldemort," Harry cut her off, and Amora sucked in a large amount of air at the sound of his name, her hand trembling in Harry's even more. "He had gotten Barty Crouch Jr to disguise as Moody using Polyjuice Potion, and he turned the cup into a Portkey."

Amora recalled Snape grabbing Leon and mentioning something about somebody stealing Polyjuice Potion from him. Her eyes widened in disbelief.

"Cedric and I, we grabbed it together, at the same time," Harry swallowed, a few tears trickling down his cheeks, mirroring Amora. "He'd saved me from a huge spider, and I hurt my leg-- bad. I told him he deserved the Cup, but he insisted. He wanted us both to win."

"Oh, Cedric," Amora sobbed, hiding her face in her hands. "Harry, I don't know if I can listen anymore. I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry that this happened to both of you."

Harry cried silently as Amora shifted to bury her face into his neck, hugging him tightly. He wrapped his arms around her, both mourning over the painful loss of Cedric Diggory.

"What-- what actually happened to him?" Amora's desire to understand contradicted her previous emotional words.

"Wormtail performed the Killing Curse on him," Harry recalled shakily, "It was over quickly, Amora. I don't think he felt any pain at all. In fact, he'd been so happy right before-- before it happened. He won, Amora. And the- the last thing he said was--" Harry sucked a breath in and Sirius nudged him once more.

Amora released a smaller sob, cutting Harry off. She supposed that was meant to help her feel more at peace, but somehow, it didn't. Cedric hadn't even stood a chance. She wished she had stuck to her gut feeling about Moody; she wished she had tried to convince Harry harder. Then Cedric wouldn't be dead.

"So-- So You-Know-Who... he's back?" Amora whispered after a moment or two. She didn't want to talk about Cedric anymore.

Harry nodded. "He is. Fudge doesn't believe me or Dumbledore. But Dumbledore's getting people to help, Amora. It's going to be okay."

"Something bad is happening, isn't it?" Amora whispered shakily, wiping her tears away with the back of her hand. "Cedric won't be the last, will he?"

Harry said nothing.

D.M + A.B

The Leaving Feast was quite bittersweet every single year, knowing it could be two months before you saw all of your friends again, however, this year, it was just downright depressing. Usually, the Great Hall was decorated with the winner of the Inter-House Championship, but today, black drapes hung in respect for Cedric Diggory.

Amora hadn't been into the Great Hall since before the third task. Normally, she'd hide in the Muggle Studies classroom and have her mother bring her her lunch, too scared to go and sit alone at the Hufflepuff table, or to see the empty space between Cedric's friends that he should be sitting in. On Wednesday, Draco had brought Amora food and they'd eaten alone down the bottom of the field, watching the sun go down.

"I think he was starting to grow on you, you know," Amora murmured, tearing up the bread Draco had handed her into small pieces and making no attempt to put any of it in her mouth.

Draco craned his neck to glance at her, swallowing the mouthful of soup he'd been consuming as his eyes softened. She hadn't mentioned Cedric to him yet and he'd been too afraid to say anything, although he could see her slowly deteriorating in front of him. She had lilac bags beneath her brown orbs and her skin was pale, her body thinner as if all of the happiness had been sucked out of her.

"You think so?" Draco murmured, watching her nod without looking back at him. "Well, I don't blame him. I'm quite the charmer."

And then, Draco watched the corners of Amora's lips twitch up for the first time since before Cedric had died.

Now, he was forced to watch her from across the Hall. He sat surrounded by his friends, but she didn't bother sitting by hers. Amora had secluded herself from the rest of the fourth years, her eyes burning into the bowl in front of her whilst everybody else spoke and made arrangements for the summer holidays.

Draco had asked her to sit with him for the Leaving Feast, but Amora had insisted that she would be okay by herself. Part of him thought that maybe she felt closer to Cedric over there. But it still looked like it was tearing her apart.

"The end," Dumbledore began from the front of the room where he sat in his seat. "Of another year."

Everybody went silent. Dumbledore looked over to the Hufflepuff table where not a single person looked excited to be going home. They were all mourning the loss of one of their most loved members.

"Today, we acknowledge a really terrible loss," the headmaster continued and Amora felt eyes bore into her, but she didn't give them the satisfaction of looking back. "Cedric Diggory was, as you all know, exceptionally hard-working, infinitely fair-minded, and most importantly, a fierce, fierce friend."

Amora had to swallow harshly to stop her heart coming out of her throat. Every word that left Dumbledore's lips made it hurt even more, because everything he was saying was true. She hoped every single person in the Great Hall knew it.

"Now, I think, therefore, you have the right to know exactly how he died," Dumbledore went on. "You see..." He walked up to his podium. "Cedric Diggory was murdered by Lord Voldemort."

Gasps and whispers rippled across the Great Hall and Amora saw some girls crying, just like she was. She wiped hers away quickly.

"The Ministry of Magic does not wish me to tell you this," the Headmaster continued, "but not to do so, I think, would be an insult to his memory. Now, the pain we all feel at this dreadful loss reminds me, and reminds us, that while we may come from different places and speak in different tongues, our hearts beat as one.

"In light of recent events, the bonds of friendship we've made this year will be more important than ever. Remember that, and Cedric Diggory will not have died in vain. You remember that, and we'll celebrate a boy who was kind and honest and brave and true, right to the very end."

D.M + A.B

Neither Draco nor Amora were excited to go home. From their spot up on the Astronomy Tower, they watched as their classmates bid each other farewells and said their goodbyes to all of the Beauxbatons and Durmstrangs, yet neither attempted to go down there and give their own hugs and words.

Over time, Draco had managed to bring Amora closer to the edge of the tower, and over time, Amora trusted Draco more. He had one hand on the railing and the other was wrapped around Amora as she leaned her head on his shoulder, his Slytherin robe and her Hufflepuff robe fluttering slightly in the warm wind. He felt her nuzzle her head closer to him and his grip tightened.

"Will you write to me?" Draco asked quietly as they watched the Durmstrang boat drift out.

Amora chewed down on her lip. "If you write back."

"Of course," Draco replied sincerely, "Your letters will most likely be the highlight of my summer holidays."

"They'll definitely be the highlight of mine," Amora managed to smile wearily. "And I will miss you, Draco."

"I'll miss you too, Amora," Draco said, his words feeling unfamiliar on his tongue. "Imagine saying that this time last year."

Amora exhaled through her nose with a small laugh. "I believe I remember telling you that the day I liked you was the day that I lost my mind. That was, what? Ten months ago now?"

Draco grinned cockily with a small shrug. "You must have really lost your mind, then."

More than you know, Draco.


	41. Chapter 41

Dear Amora,

We have never spoken before, but Cedric often spoke so fondly about you that I feel like I know you. He told me all about the summers you spent together and the traditions the two of you had. I understand how painful this summer is going to be for you, and I've been thinking of you almost as much as I've been thinking about him.

Therefore, I thought it would be nice to offer you a space to vent. I cared about your cousin so much and I have lots of stories to tell about him. You can tell me anything you want to. It's what Cedric would have wanted.

Yours sincerely,  
Cho Chang.

.

Dear Cho,

I appreciate your letter; it's very sweet of you to be so thoughtful. Cedric told me about you too. He was so excited to take you to the Yule Ball.

Respectfully, I am working on my grief with my mother. However, if you ever wanted to vent to somebody, then I would be more than happy to be there for you too.

Yours sincerely,   
Amora Buckley.

.

Dear Amora,

I didn't catch you before the summer holidays and I didn't see you on the train ride home. We're all thinking about you, Amora. Even if Ron is too lazy to write a letter or Harry's too wrapped up in the You-Know-Who business. I am always here to talk. If you would like us to still visit you this summer, then I would be more than happy to come. I know Ron and Harry would love that too.

You have to stay strong, Amora. For yourself and for Cedric. He would not want to see you so upset as I imagine you are. Grief is normal, but there are healthy and unhealthy ways to go about it. I attached a book I read about it once. You don't have to return it to me. Also, as always, here are my summer reading recommendations for you.

From,   
Hermione.

.

Dear Hermione,

I don't think I'll have time to meet up this summer. Maybe next year. I appreciate your words and your recommendation list looks even better than last year. And thank you for that book-- I shall have a good read of it when I get the time. I have also added my recommendations.

Hugs and kisses,  
Amora.

.

Mi Amor,

I have taken up some Spanish lessons with a private tutor, in case you cannot tell. I regret the joke I made about your name in the first year about opening doors and whatnot. I quite like the fact that your name means "love". Well, with the extra 'a' added to it, of course. I assume that's what your parents were thinking when they named you. It's rather sweet. It suits you. I'm named after the constellation, so I suppose we both have meaningful names.

What have you done in your first week of summer? Anything fun? Read any new books? I haven't had the chance yet. Been too busy practising for when Quidditch starts back up again next year. I have a good feeling about the Slytherin team. No offence.

Also, my father says he knows the new DADA teacher. Apparently, it will be beneficial to get along with her. Something about her working in the Ministry. I don't know.

Reply soon. I suppose I miss you a bit.

Yours,  
D.M

.

Dear Draco,

That was rather cheesy for you. Yes, my parents named me after the word for 'love'. I remember you telling me you knew French, and it's similar in that language too. I'm glad you think it suits me. 'Draco' suits you. Your constellation will be visible from July until September, so I suppose if I end up 'missing you a bit' too, I can try looking for it and think of you. Was that cheesy for me too? You're probably gagging right now, aren't you?

I've not done anything yet this summer. I'm not as productive as you to pick up a new language or practice Quidditch. Mainly, I've been sitting by the shore, looking out to sea. It's quite calming and the fresh air is a nice change from being cooped up in those Hufflepuff dorms.

I hope the new DADA teacher is nice too. It's good that your father knows her. Maybe she'll like you better than Moody did.

Hugs and kisses,   
Tu Amor.

.

Dear Miss. Buckley,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been selected to serve as Prefect for Hufflepuff House. Your school record shows that you are willing to work hard, have a thirst for justice, and value fair play, which Hufflepuffs have long been lauded for.

We are certain that you will continue to be a model for your peers and will take your new responsibilities seriously. Enclosed please find your Prefect Badge, which should be worn on your school robes at all times. Congratulations!

Sincerely,   
Pomona Sprout   
Head of Hufflepuff House

.

Amora,

Happy Birthday, Amora. I wish I could come and visit you to give you your gift personally, but I cannot, so you best write down your honest reaction-- and don't leave out a single detail. Maybe take a photo of you wearing it for me. I hope you have a good day. Only thirty days left now.

Yours,   
D.M

.

Dear Draco,

I'm not sure how literal your letter was about getting my exact reaction, but I still cannot stop smiling at your present. It's the most I have smiled this summer and my favourite gift by far. My father actually asked if there's something wrong with me, but my mother's just happy to see me happy, I suppose.

I have already attached the pin to my tie ready for in thirty days. It's extremely thoughtful of you; from when we were stuck in the library together, right? And you told me that a badger pin might look good? You can see if it's true for yourself; I slipped in a polaroid as you asked.

Hugs and kisses,   
Amora.

.

Amora,

I was right, as always. You look beautiful.

Yours,   
D.M


	42. Chapter 42

"Amora?"

The dark-haired girl contemplated ignoring the voice calling her like she had been doing all summer. From where she laid by the edge of the sea, the salty waves crashing against her feet and ankles in a steady beat, Amora could always pretend that she didn't hear her mother or father calling her name. She could close her eyes and listen to the familiar crashing of the sea, and she could pretend whoever she wanted was beside her. Sometimes it was Draco, sometimes it was Cedric.

Her skin was bronzed from two months of doing this. Sometimes with a book, often without. The book Hermione gave her about grief had told Amora that meditation was great for the mind and to help with the healing process. After the anger had gone, and then some more sadness, it was what Amora resulted to for her 'acceptance' stage. Some days she wasn't sure she was there yet, but she was really working on it.

"Amora?" The voice was weaker than her mother's, and a lot deeper too.

The brunette sat up, turning to see her Uncle Amos was standing at the front door of her home beside her mother. Amora took a deep breath. She hadn't seen him all summer. He and her aunt were not taking Cedric's death lightly. They were more distraught than she was, especially Uncle Amos after seeing his son's body.

His distant figure sent her a wave, and Amora waved unsurely back. When he moved to enter the cottage with Professor Buckley, Amora turned and grabbed the book that had been discarded by her side, tucking it underneath her arm whilst she shuffled her flip flops back onto her feet to walk across the rocks and stones.

The front door was open, welcoming in both Amora and the late August weather, and the old floorboards creaked beneath her as she pushed open the door to the kitchen, finding her mother and father sat with her uncle. She offered him a small, shaky smile.

Uncle Amos stood up and wrapped his arms around her, holding her close as if she was afraid he would disappear. Amora hugged him back just as hard. He smelled of his home, the same home that Cedric had lived in. It brought her more comfort than pain today.

"I'm sorry I am a week late," Uncle Amos apologised as he pulled away, wiping some stray tears as if it was normal to cry all the time.

He grabbed a small box out of the pocket of the coat he wore, despite the fact that it was relatively warm out.

"You didn't have to get me anything, Uncle Amos," Amora murmured, but sent him a grateful smile nevertheless.

"I think you'll like this one."

When Amora undid the bow on the box and pulled the lid off to reveal a slightly discoloured yellow prefect badge, her heart dropped and her eyes began to water. Her fingers shook as she moved forward to delicately take it out, feeling the cool metal on her skin.

"It was Cedric's badge," Uncle Amos explained, throat thick with emotion. "I- Well, your aunt and I decided that it would be nice if you wore it. I understand if you'd rather wear the nice, new one that the school have given you, but it would mean a lot to us. I think it would mean a lot to Cedric, too."

Amora blinked back tears before they could fall. She had done enough crying over the summer. She clutched Cedric's badge and nodded quickly at her uncle.

"Of course, Uncle Amos," She whispered quickly. "Thank you."

That night, as Amora finished packing her trunk for the train the next day, an owl she had become familiar with flew through her open window, dropping a letter down onto her bed. It moved to sit on her messy desk, its orange eyes staring straight at her. Amora dropped the shirt she had been folding and opened the letter.

Amora,

Good news. My letter finally arrived today and I have been granted prefect also. Father is furious how late it came. No worries, though. I've known since first year I would get prefect. I can't wait to see the look on Nott's face. Or yours tomorrow when I finally get to see you again. 

Yours,   
D.M.

Amora chuckled, shaking her head in amusement at Draco's words. The owl on her desk moved around a bit, shuffling as if to get her to hurry up. Huffing at its impatience, which no doubt came from having an equally impatient owner, Amora grabbed a piece of parchment and wrote back to him, telling him how excited she was to see him tomorrow.

"There you go." Amora handed the letter to the owl which caught it in its beak. "Take this back to Draco, please."

The Eurasian Eagle-owl picked up its wings and flew out the window once more, heading back over the house and north, towards Malfoy Manor.

Amora returned back to packing her belongings, reaching her robe and shrugging it on her shoulders, over her pyjamas. She grabbed Cedric's badge from her bedside table and fiddled with the back, popping out the pin part. It took a little bit of faffing around to get it straight, but soon Amora was staring at herself in the mirror wearing something that had belonged to Cedric.

She pursed her lips, smoothing her thumb over the glossy metal. She recalled how happy he had been to get prefect in his fifth year, using the Floo Network in the middle of the night to come and tell Amora all about it. Amora was happy to wear his badge. It felt like she had a small part of him with her.

Delicately, she pulled off her robe and folded it, placing it in the trunk. A knock came from her bedroom door and Professor Buckley opened it, smiling at her daughter. Amora smiled back wearily.

"Yes?"

"I assume you're all ready for tomorrow?" Professor Buckley asked softly, earning a nod in return. "Good. Are you looking forward to your fifth year?"

"I'm not looking forward to my O.W.L.s," Amora admitted, dread settling in her stomach at the reminder. "But other than that, I suppose I am. There's only so much you can stare at the sea before every wave starts to look the same."

Professor Buckley raised her brows and patted Amora's shoulder. "Well, get a good rest. We need to be up early to get to London in the morning."

She left the bedroom, leaving Amora by herself. This would be her first year without Cedric. She would have to make it work. 

D.M + A.B

Hogwarts Express was bustling with life as soon as Amora stepped onto it. Unlike usual, Amora wasn't walking beside Leon trying to find an empty carriage, but she did have something to do. All prefects had to go to the prefect carriage and have a brief meeting with the Head Boy and Girl.

As soon as she found the correct carriage, specialised for the chosen fifth-year prefects, Amora wasn't surprised at all to find that the second Hufflepuff prefect inside was Ernie Macmillan. He beamed at her as soon as she stepped through, standing to give her a short hug.

"Congrats on getting prefect, Amora."

The brunette opened her mouth to respond, however, her eyes met two pools of silver and she stood there gaping like a fish for a couple of seconds. Draco glared holes into the back of Ernie who didn't even notice, an innocent smile still on his face.

"Thank you, Ernie. You too," she replied quickly before settling into the seat beside him.

To Draco's left was Pansy, who smirked at Amora as soon as their eyes met. Amora smiled back faintly, but all she wanted to do was dart her eyes a few centimetres left and stare at Draco. He was wearing all black like normal, and despite the fact that he was sitting down, he still looked like he'd grown a little over the summer.

Sat on the other side of Draco were Padma Patil and Anthony Goldstein, the two fifth-year prefects for Ravenclaw. Amora had a good idea who would be coming through the doors next for Gryffindor.

When Ron entered the carriage after Hermione, Amora's brows raised in surprise. He looked like he didn't want to be there at all, a scowl crossing his face when his eyes landed on Draco and Pansy.

"Oh, great," Draco huffed, "It looks like they're giving prefect away to anybody this year."

Pansy rolled her eyes. "You know how Dumbledore likes his charity work, Malfoy."

Amora frowned at the pair and could see just how red Ron's face had grown at their remarks. His lip curled and he looked as though he had about to say something when Hermione grabbed his wrist and shot him a warning look. The tension was thick as they awaited the Head Boy and Head Girl. 

"Hi, Amora," Hermione whispered as Padma and Anthony started to converse with Ernie. "Did you read all the books I recommended to you?"

"Most of them," Amora hummed, "I had a busy summer."

That was a lie unless 'busy' was another word for moping around all day and being too unmotivated to even do things that made her happy, like reading. She'd been getting better towards the end of the summer though, realising that life really was continuing and she just had to adapt to it.

She felt Draco's eyes burning into her. Pansy smacked his wrist and he averted his attention to the Head Boy and Head Girl entering the carriages with false, bright smiles.

They went over everything with them. The privileges they had, like using the Prefects' Bathroom on the fifth floor, how they could take away house points and also dish out detentions, and their duties, such as patrolling the corridors to make sure students weren't breaking curfew.

Amora tried to keep her attention on them the whole time, yet the brunette kept zoning in and out-- even more than usual. She'd been doing it a lot since Cedric's death. Not necessarily thinking of him in particular, but almost as though her brain was trying to protect her from things that she didn't want to hear.

By the end of the hour-long meeting, Amora and Ernie had already been given a time they had to go up and down the train, just like everybody else. They had their duties straight away. 

"This is weird," she muttered to Ernie as they walked past a number of carriages filled with excited students.

"Very," he agreed, "But we'll get used to it, I suppose."

"Hopefully."

Walking up and down the train was pretty uneventful. Amora helped a first-year find a compartment to sit in from where they stood in the corridor crying, and Ernie managed to get a few third years to stop performing jinxes on each other in one of the very last compartments.

"The power we have." Ernie gave a breathy chuckle as they walked away. "I might just take all of the points away from the other houses. Then Hufflepuff might actually stand a chance this year."

Amora hummed in amusement, her smile fading from her lips when her eyes locked on Leon sat in one of the carriages. He was laughing at something that Justin was saying across from him, Kathy curled up into his side as always. Hannah, Zena, Susan, and even Zacharias were all in there too.

"You coming?" Ernie asked casually, noticing she had paused. "I think we can stop patrolling now. It's Ravenclaw's turn."

Amora forced her face to move into a gentle smile. "I think I'm going to go and meet up with a couple of other friends first."

Ernie nodded. "Alright, see you later."

Amora walked past as he peeled open the doors to her friends' carriage, and she heard an uproar of Ernie's name, followed by plenty of congratulations for his new role. Her fingers found themselves wrapped around Cedric's prefect badge, toying with it as she tried to get as far away from her housemates as possible.

Familiar laughter came from another carriage, making Amora pause. Inside sat Harry, Ron, Hermione, Neville, Ginny, and a girl with hair as blonde as Draco's. Amora had seen her a few times before and knew she was in Ginny's year group. Carefully, she pushed open the door, hoping she wasn't interrupting them.

"Amora," came a gentle chorus of her name.

Hermione jumped from her seat to hug her tightly and then pulled her hand to sit between her and Harry. Harry sent her a weak smile.

Amora had rarely been keeping an eye on the Daily Prophet over the summer, but she'd heard her mother and father whispering enough to know that they were making fun of Harry and calling him an attention-seeking liar. The Ministry had done everything in its power to make sure nobody reported anything that made Harry Potter seem like he was telling the truth about Voldemort's return. 

She'd also heard that he'd nearly been expelled for using magic outside of Hogwarts. Something about dementors. Amora had shut off after a while of her parents talking, her mind travelling elsewhere. 

"How was your summer, Amora?" Neville beamed before his face fell. "Oh. No, I didn't-- I forgot--"

"It was okay, thank you, Neville," Amora cut him off before he could work himself into a panic. "Lots of sunbathing."

"I can tell." Ginny forced a smile. "Your skin looks so gorgeously tanned. I wish I could tan like you. I just burn. Thanks to family genetics, you know."

"You get the beautiful hair to compensate," Amora replied smoothly, and Ginny smiled for real this time.

She hadn't spoken to Ginny in just over a year since the Quidditch World Cup. She wouldn't say they were friends, but Amora did like her. She thought Ginny had liked her too until she heard Ginny's conversation in the library with her friend last year.

Amora understood that she was just jealous that Harry had a crush on her instead, and hoped maybe Ginny would be able to look past that. Besides, it wasn't exactly Amora's fault. She'd signalled to Harry multiple times that she wasn't interested like that.

"You're Amora Buckley, Cedric Diggory's cousin," the blonde girl finally spoke in a dream-like tone, and everybody flinched at her words.

Hermione glared at the girl and looked as though she was about to jump on Amora and shield her from the words that had already been said. Amora felt a painful stab at her heart, but she nodded.

"Yeah, I am," Amora murmured, extending her hand to shake the girl's one. "I'm sorry, I don't recognise you?"

"That's Loony Love--" Hermione cut herself off with wide eyes. "Luna Lovegood."

Luna didn't seem to notice, smiling as she held an upside-down version of The Quibbler in her hands. Amora studied her for a second longer, recalling her name being spread around a few times before, but never for good reasons. She seemed quite sweet, and very pretty, too. 

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Luna," Amora said softly.

Harry asked Luna to borrow her copy of The Quibbler and seemed quite entranced reading an article inside it. Once he'd closed it, Ron spoke up.

"Anything interesting in there?"

"Of course not!" Hermione scoffed, "The Quibbler's rubbish, everybody knows that."

"Excuse me." The dreamy voice Luna had been using before vanished. "My father's the editor."

Hermione's face grew hot with embarrassment. "I-Oh, well... it's got some interesting... I mean, it's quite..."

"I'll have it back, thank you." Luna tugged it out of Harry's hands and flipped it back upside down, nestling behind it as Hermione sank into her seat, feeling pretty awful.

The compartment door slid open and Amora's eyes widened when she saw Draco standing there, accompanied by Blaise. She swallowed as they made eye contact and a smirk crossed his features.

Whilst Leon had clearly worked out Draco's riddle the night of Cedric's death, they hadn't discussed letting everybody else know. Especially not Harry, Ron, and Hermione. She hoped he wasn't here to talk to her. When his gaze flickered to Harry, she knew that she was safe, but Harry certainly wasn't.

"What?" Harry snapped before Draco could say anything.

"Manners, Potter, or I'll have to give you a detention," Draco drawled, "You see, I, unlike you, have been made a prefect, which means, I, unlike you, have the power to hand out punishments."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Yeah, but you, unlike me, are a git, so get out of here and leave us alone."

Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and Neville all laughed, making Draco's lip curl like it always did when he was annoyed or disgusted.

"Tell me, how does it feel to be second-best to Weasley, Potter?" Draco continued.

Hermione cut in. "Shut up, Malfoy."

"I seem to have touched a nerve," Draco smirked, "Well, just watch yourself, Potter, because I'll be dogging your footsteps if you step out of line."

"Get out!" Hermione stood up this time.

Draco sniggered and backed away, shooting Blaise a look as they slid the compartment door shut behind them. Amora stared at the place that they had been whilst Ron turned to his Chocolate Frog, seemingly not phased by Draco's snide comments today.

"I should go see Hannah and that lot," Amora spoke after a few minutes.

Nobody took the opportunity to ask about Leon and Amora slipped away. She left the compartment, barely making it a few feet ahead before a hand grasped hers. 

Amora gasped when she was tugged into the bathroom and pressed against the wall. Draco's hands were on her waist in an instant, his lips attaching to her neck. He towered over her even taller this year, clearly having grown a couple of inches over the summer. He was probably about six foot now. 

"Hey," Amora scolded him, pushing him off of her slightly before he could kiss her neck properly and catching his boyish grin. "What was that about?"

"Oh, come on." Draco's hand smoothed up the back of her neck and moved to cup the back of her head. "It's not a proper train ride if I don't take the mickey out of Potter a bit. Besides, I'd been waiting far too long for you to come and find me. Needed to get your attention somehow."

Amora rolled her eyes but ended up unable to hide her smile. She leaned on her toes and their lips pressed together for the first time in two months. In both of their opinions, it had been far too long without the other. Her hand played with the uniform he must have just changed into.

Draco grabbed her tie as they pulled away, his fingers running down the gold and black material and finding the golden badger attached to it. He grinned, teeth and all, and looked back up at her.

"You like it?"

"I love it," Amora corrected him, "Thank you so much. Again."

There was a bang on the door and Amora jumped. "Oi," Blaise hissed from the other end. "You two better hurry up. I need a piss."

Amora giggled, her head dropping against Draco's shoulder. He opened the bathroom door and shot Blaise a glare, sneaking the two of them out upon noticing that nobody else was around. Amora silently wondered how much longer they could keep up the secret-relationship act or if this would be a permanent thing until the secrecy became too much and one of them ended it.

She tried to shake away the negative thoughts plaguing her brain, feeling Draco's fingers glide across to hold her upper arm. Amora peered up at him, sending him a pursed-lipped smile.

"I'll see you later," he whispered, pecking her lips.

"See you, Draco."

...


	43. Chapter 43

Laughter and chatter came from all around Amora, all different types of puddings laid out in front of her as she sat beside Hannah Abbott, her chin on her hand. Yet another side effect of losing Cedric had been losing her appetite. Especially sitting in the Great Hall on the table that he used to sit at. She could barely stomach the small roast that she had eaten, let alone the profiteroles that Hannah had offered her.

As soon as Amora took a seat beside Hannah, determined not to let Leon ruin her fifth year, the brunet boy had immediately glanced down at his lap, not even looking up for the Sorting Ceremony that took place moments later. His smile barely returned throughout the evening, even when Kathy tried cheering him up. He looked completely lost in thought, his movements slow as he lifted the spoonfuls of trifle to his lips.

"Oh, congratulations on getting prefect, Amora," Hannah grinned, nudging the brunette's side and snapping her out of her thoughts.

A chorus came from the other fifth-years, minus Leon, as they all congratulated her on her new role.

"Thank you, guys," Amora murmured with a small smile, removing her chin from her hand. "I was a little surprised, really. I thought you would have gotten it for sure."

Hannah laughed. "Always so modest, 'Mora. Let's have a look at your badge, then."

Her breath hitched as her housemate reached forward and grasped a hold of her robes, pulling them closer. Hannah's fingers pinched at her badge and Amora watched as Hannah's face fell in slight disappointment.

"Huh," she said, "You must have gotten an old one or something. Ernie's is so much shinier."

Ernie craned his neck past Hannah to try and get a look. Amora was thankful when Hannah released her robe, Amora's fingers automatically moving to hold the badge, fiddling with it.

"Oh, yeah. It-- It was, um, Cedric's," Amora explained, watching as people flinched at his name, especially Hannah who looked horrified with herself. "Oh, Hannah, no. Don't worry about it. I'm not offended. Makes it more... personal."

"Exactly!" Kathy added, trying to ease the uncomfortable tension that had been created. "I think that's such a lovely idea, Amora."

"Thanks," Amora murmured, casting her eyes towards the front when Professor Dumbledore, thankfully, cleared his throat.

Out of the corner of her eye, Amora could feel Leon staring at her, thinking that the brunette was too concentrated on their elderly headmaster to notice. It was as if Amora could hear Pansy Parkinson's voice in her head saying "shoot him a dirty look, don't let him stare", but she found herself shying away from Leon's gaze, pretending as though she couldn't feel it burning the side of her face.

"Good evening, children," Dumbledore greeted them warmly, the Great Hall silencing. "Well, now that we are all digesting another magnificent feast, I beg a few moments of your attention for the usual start of term notices."

The headmaster went through the usual notices: stay out of the Forbidden Forest, and a bunch of other things that Filch was trying to get banned this year. Amora very nearly zoned out but managed to bring herself back before she did so.

"Now, we have two changes in staffing this year," Dumbledore continued, "We're pleased to welcome back Professor Grubbly-Plank who'll be taking Care of Magical Creatures while Professor Hagrid is on temporary leave. We also wish to welcome our new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Dolores Umbridge. And I'm sure you'll all join me in wishing the professor good luck."

Amora peered past Hannah's head and saw a woman in all pink beaming at the end of the table, right beside Professor Snape. She didn't think she'd seen anybody who liked the colour so much in her whole life. Snape's monochrome aesthetic beside Professor Umbridge made her appear all that more... comical, perhaps.

Dumbledore continued, "Tryouts for the House Quidditch teams will take place on the--"

"Hem, hem."

Amora's eyes widened and cast over to where Professor Umbridge was continuing to beam, her strange giggle causing everybody, including Professor Dumbledore himself, to stop and stare. She placed her bright pink handbag on the top of the table and stood up. She looked as though she was only five foot tall, not an inch over.

She clasped her hands in front of her and took her time to walk over to Dumbledore, her heels clicking along the way. "Thank you, headmaster, for those kind words of welcome," she said, her tone sugary sweet. "And how lovely to see all your bright happy faces smiling up at me."

Nobody was smiling.

"I'm sure we're all going to be very good friends," Professor Umbridge beamed, "The Ministry of Magic has always considered the education of young witches and wizards to be of vital importance. Although each headmaster has brought something new to this historic school, progress for the sake of progress must be discouraged. Let us preserve what must be preserved, perfect what can be perfected, and prune practices that ought to be prohibited."

Then, she giggled.

The hall was stunned into silence, students staring up at her as if she had just spoken another language to them. Dumbledore started off the clapping, which half-heartedly reached the rest of the room, scattered and hesitant.

"Thank you, Professor Umbridge, that really was most illuminating," Dumbledore stated, "Now, as I was saying, Quidditch tryouts will be held..."

"I don't like her," Hannah whispered plainly in Amora's ear, making the brunette jump slightly.

"Hm. You're right. She seems... off. I don't like that the Ministry is interfering with Hogwarts, either. Especially since they're making out that Harry's some kind of liar," Amora whispered back.

Hannah's eyes widened a little in surprise. "Oh?" She squeaked. "You believe Harry?"

A cold look crossed Amora's face. "One hundred percent."

D.M + A.B

Ernie and Amora led all of the first years down to the Hufflepuff common room, telling them exactly how to get in and warning them about the consequences of getting the password wrong. It was quite amusing to Amora to see them all so excited at the state of the common room inside, smoothing their hands along the couch on the way down the hallway containing all of their dormitories.

"Now, before you even try, boys cannot enter the girls' dormitories," Ernie explained to the group of ten as they stopped outside the circular doorways. "There are certain charms in place to make sure you are immediately sent back out, and it's not worth the pain of landing on your backside like that."

"Furthermore," Amora added, "It's common courtesy not to be running up and down the halls and the common room too much past curfew, no matter how excited you may be living away from home now. Just a reminder that some years are sitting O.W.L.s or N.E.W.T.s this year, so they won't be particularly happy to be woken up to screeching past midnight."

Someone's hand shot up.

"Yes?" Ernie called.

"Where are all our things?" A small boy with a mop of curly hair questioned.

"Your trunks will already be inside," Ernie answered.

"That being said, enjoy your new dorms, guys. And if you ever need anybody, I'm sure all of the older years will be more than happy to help, including Ernie and I," Amora smiled at them all before she opened the door to the girls' first-year dorm.

She beamed as she watched them all race inside, quickly finding the beds that had their trunks at the end of them. When she was sure that they were all fine, none looking as though they were going to burst into tears anytime soon, Amora quietly closed the door behind them.

"Hi, Amora," Herbert Fleet stood there, the Keeper of the Quidditch team. "Have a, erm, fairly decent summer?"

Amora forced her hundredth smile of the day. "It was all right. You?"

She had never spoken to the seventh year before in her entire life, other than the polite smiles she got for being Cedric's cousin. Amora really hoped he wasn't here to give her his condolences. There was only so much sympathy somebody could take before they wanted to scream and break everything in sight.

"Yeah, yeah. The usual," Herbert replied, "Anyway. I'm sure you probably realise why I'm here right now. Quidditch tryouts are this Friday, and the team reckon it would be cool if you tried out for Seeker. You know, take over Cedric's place..."

Amora swallowed. "You've never seen me place Quidditch in my life. I could be awful for all you know."

"True, but if you're anything like your cousin, then you can't be half-bad. It's just tryouts, nothing guaranteed, anyway. I'll be running them this Friday, but I'm not taking Cedric's place as captain yet. We're voting on that once we have a team," Herbert explained.

"Well, I don't play. I don't like heights," Amora replied quietly, "Thanks for the offer, though. I hope it goes well for you."

Herbert frowned, seemingly disappointed. "Yeah, okay. Thanks. If you change your mind, we're holding them at five."

He walked away, leaving Amora standing in the hallway. The idea of taking over for her cousin made her feel somewhat excited-- like she could make him proud in more ways than just taking his prefect badge, and she did love to watch Quidditch, but her fear of heights had always held her back from flying too high. The games she'd played had always been no higher than the height of the cottage, and Cedric had always respected that.

"Are you gonna do it?" Amora turned to face Kathy. "Will you try out for Seeker?"

Amora stared at Kathy for a few seconds before hesitating. "Probably not."

But she wanted to. Deep down, she really wanted to.

That's probably why she found herself at the top of the Astronomy Tower the next morning, early before breakfast. So far, Draco had managed to convince her to go towards the edge twice, so long as he held onto her. It was a huge step in the right direction for her slight acrophobia, but she couldn't always have Draco glued to her side if she wanted to fly a broom higher than a two-storey house.

Amora took as many steps as she felt comfortable towards the edge. She was about six feet away from the edge when her heart began to pound uncomfortably.

"You can't fall," she whispered to herself. "You can't fall. There are railings holding you back."

She tried to mutter these things to herself until she believed it, managing to move her feet again about a whole minute later. Amora was well aware that she was missing breakfast for this, but she deemed it worth it if it helped get her over her fear. If it helped make Cedric proud.

Slowly, shakily, Amora found herself by the edge of the Astronomy Tower. She kept her chin up high, not daring to look down. Everything felt so big when she was up there, and she felt so small and insignificant. Like if the wind picked up any further then she would be dragged away with it and lost forever.

When the metal railing was wrapped beneath her hands, Amora felt her heart skip a beat. She shakily looked down, a small cry leaving her lips when she saw how truly high up she was. This was far different from having Draco's arms around her and his reassuring words in her ears.

Amora clamped her eyes shut and tried to memorise his voice. Aw, come on, Amora. Not too high up, see? Look, I'll catch you if you stumble. You're fine with me.

"Amora?" A shaky voice came from behind her.

It made her jump and a yelp left her lips as she managed to somehow inch closer to the edge, her palms becoming slicker with sweat. Her head snapped over her shoulder and she stared at the figure of Leon.

"What are you doing so close to the edge?"

Amora stepped away from it, realising that it had probably looked slightly alarming from afar. Her shaking body gripping the bars, small cries leaving her lips as she whispered to herself like a complete nutter. He'd probably expected her to have some sort of breakdown.

"I was just looking," Amora muttered bitterly, "Why are you here?"

Leon flinched slightly. "When you didn't turn to go to the Great Hall, I- I--"

"You what?" She snapped, "You thought you would follow me? Don't you realise that your lack of trust is what drove us apart, Leon?"

"I had every right to have no trust in you, considering who you had been with the entire time," Leon replied coldly.

Amora swore she could have punched him right there and then. The way he crossed his arms against his chest as if he was her parent. He'd always been like this; so controlling and worried over everything she did. The freedom she'd gained when he started becoming distracted by his relationship with Kathy is the only reason she'd been able to sneak around as much as she did.

"I wasn't going to kill myself," Amora seethed as she moved past him, heading for the hatch. "So there's one less reason to follow me around like... Like some... some weirdo stalker or something."

Whilst Cedric's death had left her feeling less than whole, it didn't make her feel suicidal. She recognised that she had other things to stay sane and happy for-- her mother, her real friends, her father... Draco.

The brunette opened the hatch back up and left through it, heading down all of the stairs until she made it to the Great Hall. She was ready for a quick breakfast before she started her first day of fifth year.

D.M + A.B

Potions had been a bore. Professor Snape was being his usual miserable self, setting them tons of homework and snapping a lecture about the O.W.L.s coming up at the end of the year. They had made a Draught of Peace, which Harry had somehow managed to cock up terribly, and Draco had sent her a paper crane from where she'd been making hers next to Susan Bones.

we have a lot of catching up to do. lunch by the tree? D.M

Amora daren't send a note back. Instead, she smiled at him from across the room when nobody was looking. If Draco got caught by Snape, he would barely suffer any consequences, however, if she committed the same act, she was sure it would be automatic detention.

Divination was next. Amora found it more interesting than Potions sometimes, even if she wasn't sure that everything that came out of Professor Trelawney's mouth was true. She was willing to give her the benefit of doubt, though, and always participated in lessons. Now, though, she had the issue that she still sat with Harry, Ron, and Leon, the last of which she did not get along with recently.

Amora sat on her pouffe, her fingers fiddling with a book in front of her. The Dream Oracle. Amora had been taking so much Dreamless Sleep recently that the last dream she'd had was in early July. It was so horrific that she swore for nearly two days after she would never sleep. She never wanted to see Cedric's dead body so clearly ever again.

When they were told to split into pairs and evaluate their dreams, Amora could have cursed Harry and Ron for turning to each other as quickly as they did, although she would have been surprised if either actually wanted to go with her over each other. Amora sat with her arms folded against her chest, ignoring Leon, and he seemed to be content doing the same thing.

"My dears..." Professor Trelawney approached them with a grim smile. "There seems to be no discussion occurring?"

"I do not feel comfortable sharing my dreams with Buckley, Professor Trelawney," Leon hissed and several eyes snapped over to them-- Ron and Harry looked startled.

Amora felt as though she had been hit in the chest with a sledgehammer, the air in her lungs sizzling away. Perhaps it was the way he had said her name, or how publicly he had just dismissed her. It felt uncomfortable and foreign to be shunned by Leon, even if she had been doing it to him since June.

Professor Trelawney looked visibly uncomfortable. "Um, well..."

"Why not, Holloway?" Draco's sneering voice cut in and Amora nearly jumped, momentarily forgetting that he was in this class, sitting on a table to the left with Pansy, Blaise, and Theo. "What kind of dreams have you been having, hm?"

His insinuation caused his table of friends to start snickering and Leon grew angrier, his face red and his fists scrunched. Amora hesitated to bite back her smile, knowing that Leon harboured her biggest secret ever and he could reveal it at any given moment. She didn't want to provoke him too much.

"Bugger off, Malfoy," Ron spat, rolling his eyes. "'S got nothing to do with you."

"Swap with Weasley and Potter, you two," Professor Trelawney muttered before she drifted away to Lavender and Parvarti's table where she was much more likely to be welcomed.

Amora switched places with Ron who looked quite annoyed to have to go with Leon instead of Harry. Harry sent her a small smile and a nod, his fingers shifting around his book as the class returned back to talking rather than staring over at their table.

"What's going on with you and Leon?" Harry whispered, daring to glance at him and Ron as they talked half-heartedly to one another. "Something's been off for a while now, hasn't it?"

"We had a big fight," Amora replied in a soft murmur. "He did something that I don't think I can ever forgive him for."

Harry frowned. "Must have been pretty bad. What was it?"

"I'll tell you one day, Harry," Amora said, and she thought it might be the truth. "Just not today."

The rest of the class went on for a long time. Professor Trelawney set them more homework on top of the stuff they already had for Potions. They had to keep a dream journal for a month, and Amora was ready to make hers up whilst she continued to get Dreamless Sleep Potions from Madam Pomfrey every night. She wondered how long she could go before Pomfrey had to stop authorising her to take it. She couldn't stay on it forever.

Amora kept her promise and met Draco at the bottom of the field, beneath the tree they spent a lot of last spring underneath. He was already seated in the roots, his robe flung over a branch. Much to her surprise, he had brought his friends with him too. Pansy was looking through The Dream Oracle from the last lesson whilst Theo and Blaise bickered about something.

"Hi, guys," Amora smiled slightly.

"Oh, thank Merlin for Buckley," Pansy huffed, patting the grassy ground beside her. "The only reason I endure so much time with these insufferable idiots is to see you."

Amora grinned. "Careful, Pansy. Someone might think you actually care about me."

Pansy rolled her eyes as Amora placed herself down on the ground beside Pansy and by Draco's legs. She was clearly the odd one out; her golden robes sticking out in a sea of royal green, yet, strangely, this was where Amora had felt most comfortable since she arrived at Hogwarts this year. 

This time last year, if she could see herself like this, she would have called bluff-- said that she was definitely under the Imperius Curse or something.

"C'mere," Draco muttered from behind her.

Amora felt his hands on her and then her head was in his lap, his pale fingers in her dark locks. Amora bit down on her bottom lip and grinned up at him, watching him half-smile back. Snickering came from the side and Draco tore his gaze to shoot Blaise and Theo a cruel glare. If looks could kill, they would have been six feet under.

"You're so lucky, Amora," she heard Blaise call, "Draco never lets us put our heads in his lap or plays with our hair."

The brunette laughed out loud but heard Draco pick up what must have been a small stone and toss it straight at Blaise. Blaise yelped in an exaggerated manner.

"How's your first day back going?" Draco murmured as he peered down at her. "Sorry I couldn't get us alone. These tossers wanted to come as soon as they heard I was meeting you."

"I don't mind, I like them," Amora replied, nearly shuddering as his hand ran through her hair. "And, ur... Could have been better but also could have been worse, I suppose."

"Hollway's a dick," Pansy growled.

Amora shrugged. "We had already gotten off to a bad start this morning. I got the last word in, so I suppose he had some pent up rage to let out."

"No excuses," Blaise huffed, "Nobody embarrasses our wittle Hufflepuff like that," he joked, making baby noises.

His hand moved to tickle her chin like a real infant, but Draco smacked it away angrily. "Just fuck off, Zabini. I'll give you detention."

"Ah, sorry, Amora. Forgot we weren't allowed to touch you."

Amora rolled her eyes at both Blaise and Draco, believing they were mostly joking around with each other but not being a hundred percent sure. She could barely tell with any of them, really.

"Well, thanks anyway for defending me," she said to Draco as he peered back down at her.

"There is no need to thank me."

Yet Amora felt as though there was every need to thank him-- to thank all four of them, even. Being around them felt like some sort of safe space, like she could relax and let her guard down for a while. None of them seemed to judge her-- not for anything that would hurt, anyway. Pansy might call her soft and they may be very blunt, but it was almost refreshing in a way.

This was the happiest Amora had felt since before Cedric had died and the weight of that thought nearly crushed her, because she knew this would never be permanent. Everything about the situation was a huge secret. She was supposed to be eating lunch with her Hufflepuff friends right now.

"We have ten minutes left," Theo muttered bitterly after a while. "Defence with that new woman. The one that looks like walking candy floss."

Amora laughed loudly, her nose scrunching up. "Umbridge?"

"That's the one. My parents want me to get in good with her," Theo huffed.

"Same," the other Slytherin's replied quietly, much to Amora's surprise.

"Shouldn't be too hard. Just follow her rules and everything will be fine."


	44. Chapter 44

Amora walked in behind the group of Slytherins to avoid any suspicion, but was frozen in her tracks when she realised the seating plan was exactly the same as last year. Harry and Ron sat together, Hermione was next to Leon, and right in front of Crabbe and Goyle was an empty seat next to Draco. She caught Harry sending her a sympathetic glance as she walked by, taking the same seat from the school year before.

"Oh, great," Draco muttered sourly, intending for the people around to hear. "Yet another gruelling year of having to work with Buckley."

Amusement blossomed inside Amora's chest at his words and she found herself having to bite back a smile. It was like their own inside joke, one that barely anybody else in the room could understand. The people that had been listening, which weren't that many, craned their ears to hear what Amora had to say in return.

She scoffed. "Do you mind shutting up? Your voice goes straight through me."

Draco shot his eyebrows up at her, a sneering glare on his aristocratic features. However, Amora could see the glint flash in his eyes. He was just as amused as she was.

The focus on the pair of 'enemies' seemed to dwindle away and become fixated upon a charmed paper bird flying around the room, courtesy of Padma.

It swooped past the heads of the teenagers, Seamus jumping up to try and swat it down whilst people laughed. Amora watched it dive into the air towards the high ceiling when Crabbe grabbed a slingshot from his robe and shot it. It drifted lower and lower until a magical spark spat out and destroyed it, the burnt remains crumbling onto the Patil twins' table.

"Good morning, children."

The sickly sweet voice had come from behind them. Amora craned her neck just like everybody else as the room went silent. Professor Umbridge stood there, her wand in her hand and an elegant smile on her face.

Amora's eyes drifted over to Professor Umbridge, their new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. She held her wand in her hands and had an elegant smile on her face as she began to approach the front of the classroom, using her wand to write on the chalkboard.

"Ordinary Wizarding Level examinations," she chirped, "O W Ls, more commonly known as O.W.L.s. Study hard and you will be rewarded. Fail to do so, and the consequences may be severe."

Textbooks were then magically handed around the room whilst everybody stared unsurely, wondering if they were about to get the same lecture that they had been getting from every teacher in every class so far today. Amora was already stressed enough about the exams as it was-- she didn't need every teacher trying to drill it into her as soon as she stepped into the room.

"Your previous instruction in this subject has been disturbingly uneven," Professor Umbridge continued, "But you will be pleased to know that from now on, you will be following a carefully structured Ministry-approved course of defensive magic."

Amora picked up her brand new text book 'Dark Arts Defence: Basic for Beginners', frowning at the cover. Very quickly, Hermione had her hand up in the air.

"There's nothing in here about using defensive spells?" Hermione frowned curiously.

"Using spells?" Umbridge replied in shock, a giggle following. "Well, I can't imagine why you would need to use spells in my classroom."

Amora's face scrunched up.

"We're not going to be using magic?" Ron butted in.

Umbridge was quick to reply. "You will be learning about defensive spells in a secure, risk-free way."

Most students were staring at her as if she was insane. Amora couldn't help but agree with them. Wasn't the whole point of Defence Against the Dark Arts to be able to defend themselves? How could they do that if they weren't even allowed to use or witness magic in the classroom?

"What use is that?" Harry scoffed, "If we're attacked, it won't be risk-free."

Umbridge's sickly sweet smile seemed to turn sour. "Students will raise their hands when they speak in my class," she said sternly.

Several students stuck their hands into the air. Professor Umbridge called upon Dean Thomas, who seemed to back Harry's point, only to get cut off abruptly.

"I repeat. Do you expect to be attacked during my classes?"

Dean began to stammer, "No, but I--"

"It is the view of the Ministry that a theoretical knowledge will be sufficient to get you through your examinations which, after all, is what school is all about," Professor Umbridge tried to reason with her falsely sweet tone.

"And how's theory supposed to prepare us for what's out there?" Harry cut in.

Amora felt her heart jolt. She knew what he was implying-- Harry was talking about Voldemort, the same thing that had killed her cousin. A war was coming, Harry knew it, and she believed him, even if the Ministry wouldn't.

"There is nothing out there, dear," Umbridge beamed, and Amora felt a pulse of anger surge through her. "Who do you imagine wants to attack children like yourself?"

"Oh, I don't know," Harry replied sarcastically, "Maybe Lord Voldemort?"

Amora flinched. People whispered all around the classroom, shocked to hear Harry say his name out loud. She knew a lot of the people in the room didn't believe that Voldemort was back anyway. They had believed the Daily Prophet and their parents. Seamus, for example, had been talking bad about Harry since the school year had started yesterday.

Umbridge's smile seemed to falter and she struggled to uphold her image. "Now let me make this quite plain. You have been told that a certain dark wizard is at large once again. This is a lie."

"It's not a lie!" Harry burst, "I saw him, I fought him."

Amora's hands were practically shaking, her mouth dry and her eyes nearly wetting for the first time since she'd arrived back at Hogwarts. Under the table, Draco placed his hand on her leg to stop it from bouncing, but he didn't look away from where Umbridge and Harry were practically going head to head.

"Detention, Mr Potter!" Umbridge shrieked.

"So according to you Cedric Diggory dropped dead at his own accord?'

Shit. It had been a week since Amora had last cried about her cousin, and now she was struggling to hold back more than ever. No way did she want to get so emotional in front of her entire class, but her heart was pounding so hard that it felt like it was bruising her ribcage. Some students were staring at her, as if waiting for her to start bawling.

"Cedric Diggory's death was a tragic accident!" Umbridge replied through gritted teeth.

"No it wasn't!" Amora suddenly cried and, much to her horror, hot tears began to sail down her cheeks. "How can you say that? How can you degrade Cedric's death like that? Harry was there, why would he lie about it?"

Harry's chest seemed to be heaving just as much as hers and Professor Umbridge's. He glanced over at her, the two of them silently agreeing that they hated this woman with all of their hearts.

"Now, Miss Buckley, is it?" Umbridge tried to sweeten her, but every word came out sterner than the last. "I understand that this was a highly personal loss for you and your family, but I will not have you taking that sort of tone with me."

Draco squeezed her leg, as if trying to get her to be quiet. Amora couldn't stay quiet. She refused to. When Goyle had made fun of Leon and Kathy for being Half-bloods, she couldn't stay quiet. When Draco had mocked the Weasleys for being poor or Hermione for being a Muggle-born, she refused to stay silent. She'd do the same for Cedric now, even if he wasn't there to witness it.

"He's back," Amora's voice was shaking. "You'll regret not listening to Harry."

"Detention, Miss Buckley," Professor Umbridge replied softly, "For talking back. I gave you the chance to be quiet, however, it seems you have wished to defy me. All actions have consequences. I did not wish to give two of my students detention during their first lessons, but I hope this teaches the rest of you that you should not wish to make an enemy of me. I am only here to teach what the Ministry has asked of me."

She gave another giggle and strained a smile at the horrified looks of students around the room.

Amora's lip curled in a Draco-like fashion and she couldn't tell if the tears running down her face were out of sadness or anger now. She brushed them away hastily. 

D.M + A.B

Amora was the first out of Umbridge's classroom as soon as the bell went for the end of the day. She didn't even look at Draco, didn't wait for Harry or Ron or Hermione or any of her Hufflepuff friends, she just marched and marched until she was as far away from that wretched woman as possible. Somehow, Hannah had managed to catch up to her, grasping her arm with a sad smile.

"I'm sorry, Amora," Hannah said, "Umbridge shouldn't have said that in front of you--"

"She shouldn't have said it at all!" Amora replied hastily, "Cedric's death was not some freak accident."

Hannah watched her sympathetically, nodding along. Amora wasn't sure if Hannah was just trying to be nice or if she actually believed her, but Amora was starting to feel like Harry did-- like she was insane and nobody was taking her seriously. Amora gently pulled her arm away from Hannah and bit her lip.

"I should go get some food. My first detention's at five."

Amora drifted into the Great Hall where barely anybody was, most people retreating to their dorms for a while or changing into comfier clothes. She grasped an apple from one of the bowls and headed straight back out, the frown not leaving her face for a second.

When a hand grabbed her and pulled her into an unused hallway, Amora was less than surprised to be staring into silver pools.

"Are you..." Draco scanned her face with a frown of his own. "Are you all right?"

"Mhm," Amora hummed, barely looking him in the eye. "I don't actually want to talk about it, Draco. It will just make me angrier."

Draco's jaw clenched slightly and his fingers lightly grasped her chin. This time he forced her to look into his eyes. He was concerned, she could tell, but even months later he was having trouble expressing it. It looked as though he had a hundred things he wanted to actually say, but the words wouldn't roll off his tongue.

"Are you going to talk to me?" He asked, although it sounded more like a command.

"No."

Draco took a deep breath, his shoulders sagging. Amora could tell he was angry, but at that moment in time she didn't feel like dealing with his emotions on top of hers.

"You haven't actually said anything to me about... Well, about your cousin. Nothing in your letters. Not even when... Not even the day it happened. That's the first I've seen you mention him," Draco muttered, "And I thought you would. You're the one that talks, remember?"

"Not about him," Amora swallowed.

"But..." Draco trailed off, nose scrunching slightly. "The next day. I watched you go to the Hospital Wing and talk to Potter about him. You grabbed his hand. I've been waiting for you to come to me. To do the same. You haven't."

She didn't realise that Draco had seen her. Seeing Harry the day after Cedric had died had been less about giving and seeking comfort and more about finding out what had happened to her cousin. The comfort thing had just seemed to come naturally alongside it. She was surprised Draco hadn't said anything sooner. He must have been furious to see her holding Harry's hand.

The brunette's eyes closed slowly. When she opened them again, Draco was watching her with a crease between his brows.

"You were there for me the night it happened, Draco." Amora felt cold thinking about that day. "You holding me and wiping my tears meant the most to me. Sometimes, I don't like to be the one that talks. Sometimes I just want to be held."

Draco didn't say anything.

"I have to go," she murmured, "My detention starts in ten."

He watched her walk away.

D.M + A.B

When Amora knocked quietly on Professor Umbridge's door, she hoped that maybe the woman wouldn't answer and she would be able to retreat to her dorms and use that as an excuse. However, when Umbridge's sickly tone called out "come in" about five seconds later, Amora was left with no choice but to push the door open.

She wasn't sure what she was expecting when she walked inside, but it certainly wasn't a room as pink as Professor Umbridge herself. Dozens of plates hung on the taffy brick walls, mewling cats watching her every move as she glanced around cautiously. The woman herself sat behind a desk, a cup of tea in her hands as she sent Amora perhaps one of the fakest smiles she had ever seen.

"Good evening, Miss. Buckley," Professor Umbridge spoke gently, "Have a seat."

Amora slowly sat down in the chair that was behind a single desk next to Umbridge's, a sense of discomfort settling in her when she realised that there was no other seat for Harry. She guessed that they would be doing their detentions apart. Had he come before her or would he go after her?

"You're going to be doing some lines for me today, Miss. Buckley," Umbridge continued and Amora blew out a breath of relief. "You will be using one of my quills. It's a rather... special one of mine. No ink required."

The new professor selected a quill from her desk that had a large feather on the end. Amora was just surprised that it wasn't pink like everything else in the room. Umbridge stood and walked around to hand it to her, practically looming over her shoulder as Amora held it to the parchment.

"What should I write?" Amora asked quietly.

"'I must not talk back.'" Umbridge smiled, "We'll see how long it takes to sink in, yes?"

The teenage girl gripped the quill so hard that she was worried for a second she'd break it and get into even more trouble. Amora exhaled quietly and leant over the parchment, as if to attempt to conceal it from the looming woman behind her, and began to write her lines.

I must not talk back. I must not--

A burning sensation pinched at her other hand, like a thousand needles digging into her skin and breaking it. It was crimson and cursive, her own blood bubbling past the surface to create the very words that she had written on the parchment. Umbridge had been right to call it a special quill. Amora dropped the stationery, hissing as she grasped her hand and peered up at the woman in horror.

Umbridge giggled. "Yes, Miss. Buckley?"

The look behind those cold beady eyes was telling her to pick the quill back up unless she wanted trouble. Amora opened her mouth to protest, but instead swallowed harshly and glanced back down at her injured hand. It stung and burned already, and the pain only intensified as she wrote out the next line... and the one after that... and the one after that...

At one point, Amora realised that her hand was starting to feel quite numb, but... in an extremely disturbing way, the physical pain felt somewhat better than all of the emotional pain that she had been having to deal with for the past few months. It took her mind off of Cedric, it made her stop feeling guilty for being alive without him because she was in pain.

Tears streamed down her cheeks and Umbridge called it a night after what must have been an hour. Amora dropped the quill as soon as the woman had cleared her throat, tucking both hands past her robes and yanking her backpack up off of the ground. She turned from the door, about to open it when Umbridge called her name.

"I will see you again the same time tomorrow, Miss. Buckley," Umbridge said softly, "Just so we can be absolutely positive that you have learned from your mistakes."

Amora didn't reply but grabbed the door knob-- "Remember, Miss. Buckley. You must remember that, deep down, you know you deserve to be punished."

The brunette didn't look back but yanked the door open and stepped out, nearly bumping into Harry who was raising his fist to knock. Amora's teary eyes widened, realising that he was about to serve his detention.

"Harry, I--" Amora was about to warn him, when Umbridge cut in once more.

"Ah, Mr Potter. Please, come right through."

Harry frowned at Amora as if to say 'tell me later' and moved into Umbridge's office. As soon as the door slammed shut behind him, Amora felt a sense of dread and guilt. She moved further down the halls, away from Umbridge's office, and then lifted up the sleeve of her robe. She grimaced at the red, splotchy skin, her nose scrunching up at the smeared blood and the words 'I must not talk back' dented in beautifully joined handwriting.

Oddly enough, her very first instinct was to go running to Leon. The next was to go see her new Slytherin friends, but then she thought Draco wouldn't be too happy with her at the moment. He hadn't said anything, but she could see it in his eyes that he was angry.

Cedric came next, but her heart panged at the memory of his body lying on the Quidditch pitch, and she realised that she should probably just keep her mouth shut anyway. She didn't need to be writing 'I must not spread rumours' this time next week into her hand.

So Amora retreated to her dormitory, finding the other girls all sat around. Kathy gave a forced smile as soon as Amora entered, and even followed her into the bathroom as Amora began to wash her hands. Kathy didn't notice the way the water turned a reddish colour as it went down the drain, she was too focused on the brunette's face.

"Amora, we haven't properly caught up yet," the blonde beamed.

Amora nodded. "Yeah. I've been quite busy."

"Right, right. Well, I just wanted to let you know that I missed you this summer," Kathy said, "I would have written to you, only I was worried you were angry with me over what Leon did."

"It's not your fault," Amora mumbled as she dried her hands with a towel.

"Well, I was thinking, right? Why can't we just put it all past us? Leon knows about you and Draco, and he apologised, so perhaps you can work it out now? Start on a clean slate where there are no secrets and everybody is open," Kathy grinned, "What do you think?"

Amora paused. She was in a bad mood from Defence Against the Dark Arts class and the detention with Umbridge, so she didn't want to say something she might regret. Amora took a deep breath in, and a deep breath out.

"That's not the point, Kathy," she replied with. "The point is that I can never trust him again."

Kathy's smile faltered a little. "Ah, but that's what's so great about starting on a clean slate and then having no secrets! You never have to give Leon a reason not to trust you again--"

"Kathy, would you please just stop trying to make everybody friends with one another?" Amora suddenly burst, her face scrunching up. "Not everybody needs to be best pals. And I have my reasons for keeping my relationship with Draco a secret from Leon. He hates Slytherins. He always made fun of be when I had that stupid thing for Blaise Zabini in the first few years. I would have told him in my own time. I wasn't ready. I don't care if he never trusts me again anymore, because I don't trust him either."

Kathy looked quite teary as she moved to grab Amora's arm. Amora shrugged her off of it. "Look, I like you Kathy, okay? You're good for Leon and last year you were really fun to be around, but I don't need to talk to you about this. If Leon's telling you to come up to me and say this, then you should just tell him that he's lucky I don't go to Dumbledore and tell him he's been tampering with Veritaserum."

Kathy gasped, her hand on her chest. "Amora!" She cried, "You-- You wouldn't, would you?"

"So long as he leaves me alone," Amora muttered, cradling her injured hand and leaving the bathroom.

Her first day of fifth year had been shit.


	45. Chapter 45

Amora walked in behind the group of Slytherins to avoid any suspicion, but was frozen in her tracks when she realised the seating plan was exactly the same as last year. Harry and Ron sat together, Hermione was next to Leon, and right in front of Crabbe and Goyle was an empty seat next to Draco. She caught Harry sending her a sympathetic glance as she walked by, taking the same seat from the school year before.

"Oh, great," Draco muttered sourly, intending for the people around to hear. "Yet another gruelling year of having to work with Buckley."

Amusement blossomed inside Amora's chest at his words and she found herself having to bite back a smile. It was like their own inside joke, one that barely anybody else in the room could understand. The people that had been listening, which weren't that many, craned their ears to hear what Amora had to say in return.

She scoffed. "Do you mind shutting up? Your voice goes straight through me."

Draco shot his eyebrows up at her, a sneering glare on his aristocratic features. However, Amora could see the glint flash in his eyes. He was just as amused as she was.

The focus on the pair of 'enemies' seemed to dwindle away and become fixated upon a charmed paper bird flying around the room, courtesy of Padma.

It swooped past the heads of the teenagers, Seamus jumping up to try and swat it down whilst people laughed. Amora watched it dive into the air towards the high ceiling when Crabbe grabbed a slingshot from his robe and shot it. It drifted lower and lower until a magical spark spat out and destroyed it, the burnt remains crumbling onto the Patil twins' table.

"Good morning, children."

The sickly sweet voice had come from behind them. Amora craned her neck just like everybody else as the room went silent. Professor Umbridge stood there, her wand in her hand and an elegant smile on her face.

Amora's eyes drifted over to Professor Umbridge, their new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. She held her wand in her hands and had an elegant smile on her face as she began to approach the front of the classroom, using her wand to write on the chalkboard.

"Ordinary Wizarding Level examinations," she chirped, "O W Ls, more commonly known as O.W.L.s. Study hard and you will be rewarded. Fail to do so, and the consequences may be severe."

Textbooks were then magically handed around the room whilst everybody stared unsurely, wondering if they were about to get the same lecture that they had been getting from every teacher in every class so far today. Amora was already stressed enough about the exams as it was-- she didn't need every teacher trying to drill it into her as soon as she stepped into the room.

"Your previous instruction in this subject has been disturbingly uneven," Professor Umbridge continued, "But you will be pleased to know that from now on, you will be following a carefully structured Ministry-approved course of defensive magic."

Amora picked up her brand new text book 'Dark Arts Defence: Basic for Beginners', frowning at the cover. Very quickly, Hermione had her hand up in the air.

"There's nothing in here about using defensive spells?" Hermione frowned curiously.

"Using spells?" Umbridge replied in shock, a giggle following. "Well, I can't imagine why you would need to use spells in my classroom."

Amora's face scrunched up.

"We're not going to be using magic?" Ron butted in.

Umbridge was quick to reply. "You will be learning about defensive spells in a secure, risk-free way."

Most students were staring at her as if she was insane. Amora couldn't help but agree with them. Wasn't the whole point of Defence Against the Dark Arts to be able to defend themselves? How could they do that if they weren't even allowed to use or witness magic in the classroom?

"What use is that?" Harry scoffed, "If we're attacked, it won't be risk-free."

Umbridge's sickly sweet smile seemed to turn sour. "Students will raise their hands when they speak in my class," she said sternly.

Several students stuck their hands into the air. Professor Umbridge called upon Dean Thomas, who seemed to back Harry's point, only to get cut off abruptly.

"I repeat. Do you expect to be attacked during my classes?"

Dean began to stammer, "No, but I--"

"It is the view of the Ministry that a theoretical knowledge will be sufficient to get you through your examinations which, after all, is what school is all about," Professor Umbridge tried to reason with her falsely sweet tone.

"And how's theory supposed to prepare us for what's out there?" Harry cut in.

Amora felt her heart jolt. She knew what he was implying-- Harry was talking about Voldemort, the same thing that had killed her cousin. A war was coming, Harry knew it, and she believed him, even if the Ministry wouldn't.

"There is nothing out there, dear," Umbridge beamed, and Amora felt a pulse of anger surge through her. "Who do you imagine wants to attack children like yourself?"

"Oh, I don't know," Harry replied sarcastically, "Maybe Lord Voldemort?"

Amora flinched. People whispered all around the classroom, shocked to hear Harry say his name out loud. She knew a lot of the people in the room didn't believe that Voldemort was back anyway. They had believed the Daily Prophet and their parents. Seamus, for example, had been talking bad about Harry since the school year had started yesterday.

Umbridge's smile seemed to falter and she struggled to uphold her image. "Now let me make this quite plain. You have been told that a certain dark wizard is at large once again. This is a lie."

"It's not a lie!" Harry burst, "I saw him, I fought him."

Amora's hands were practically shaking, her mouth dry and her eyes nearly wetting for the first time since she'd arrived back at Hogwarts. Under the table, Draco placed his hand on her leg to stop it from bouncing, but he didn't look away from where Umbridge and Harry were practically going head to head.

"Detention, Mr Potter!" Umbridge shrieked.

"So according to you Cedric Diggory dropped dead at his own accord?'

Shit. It had been a week since Amora had last cried about her cousin, and now she was struggling to hold back more than ever. No way did she want to get so emotional in front of her entire class, but her heart was pounding so hard that it felt like it was bruising her ribcage. Some students were staring at her, as if waiting for her to start bawling.

"Cedric Diggory's death was a tragic accident!" Umbridge replied through gritted teeth.

"No it wasn't!" Amora suddenly cried and, much to her horror, hot tears began to sail down her cheeks. "How can you say that? How can you degrade Cedric's death like that? Harry was there, why would he lie about it?"

Harry's chest seemed to be heaving just as much as hers and Professor Umbridge's. He glanced over at her, the two of them silently agreeing that they hated this woman with all of their hearts.

"Now, Miss Buckley, is it?" Umbridge tried to sweeten her, but every word came out sterner than the last. "I understand that this was a highly personal loss for you and your family, but I will not have you taking that sort of tone with me."

Draco squeezed her leg, as if trying to get her to be quiet. Amora couldn't stay quiet. She refused to. When Goyle had made fun of Leon and Kathy for being Half-bloods, she couldn't stay quiet. When Draco had mocked the Weasleys for being poor or Hermione for being a Muggle-born, she refused to stay silent. She'd do the same for Cedric now, even if he wasn't there to witness it.

"He's back," Amora's voice was shaking. "You'll regret not listening to Harry."

"Detention, Miss Buckley," Professor Umbridge replied softly, "For talking back. I gave you the chance to be quiet, however, it seems you have wished to defy me. All actions have consequences. I did not wish to give two of my students detention during their first lessons, but I hope this teaches the rest of you that you should not wish to make an enemy of me. I am only here to teach what the Ministry has asked of me."

She gave another giggle and strained a smile at the horrified looks of students around the room.

Amora's lip curled in a Draco-like fashion and she couldn't tell if the tears running down her face were out of sadness or anger now. She brushed them away hastily. 

D.M + A.B

Amora was the first out of Umbridge's classroom as soon as the bell went for the end of the day. She didn't even look at Draco, didn't wait for Harry or Ron or Hermione or any of her Hufflepuff friends, she just marched and marched until she was as far away from that wretched woman as possible. Somehow, Hannah had managed to catch up to her, grasping her arm with a sad smile.

"I'm sorry, Amora," Hannah said, "Umbridge shouldn't have said that in front of you--"

"She shouldn't have said it at all!" Amora replied hastily, "Cedric's death was not some freak accident."

Hannah watched her sympathetically, nodding along. Amora wasn't sure if Hannah was just trying to be nice or if she actually believed her, but Amora was starting to feel like Harry did-- like she was insane and nobody was taking her seriously. Amora gently pulled her arm away from Hannah and bit her lip.

"I should go get some food. My first detention's at five."

Amora drifted into the Great Hall where barely anybody was, most people retreating to their dorms for a while or changing into comfier clothes. She grasped an apple from one of the bowls and headed straight back out, the frown not leaving her face for a second.

When a hand grabbed her and pulled her into an unused hallway, Amora was less than surprised to be staring into silver pools.

"Are you..." Draco scanned her face with a frown of his own. "Are you all right?"

"Mhm," Amora hummed, barely looking him in the eye. "I don't actually want to talk about it, Draco. It will just make me angrier."

Draco's jaw clenched slightly and his fingers lightly grasped her chin. This time he forced her to look into his eyes. He was concerned, she could tell, but even months later he was having trouble expressing it. It looked as though he had a hundred things he wanted to actually say, but the words wouldn't roll off his tongue.

"Are you going to talk to me?" He asked, although it sounded more like a command.

"No."

Draco took a deep breath, his shoulders sagging. Amora could tell he was angry, but at that moment in time she didn't feel like dealing with his emotions on top of hers.

"You haven't actually said anything to me about... Well, about your cousin. Nothing in your letters. Not even when... Not even the day it happened. That's the first I've seen you mention him," Draco muttered, "And I thought you would. You're the one that talks, remember?"

"Not about him," Amora swallowed.

"But..." Draco trailed off, nose scrunching slightly. "The next day. I watched you go to the Hospital Wing and talk to Potter about him. You grabbed his hand. I've been waiting for you to come to me. To do the same. You haven't."

She didn't realise that Draco had seen her. Seeing Harry the day after Cedric had died had been less about giving and seeking comfort and more about finding out what had happened to her cousin. The comfort thing had just seemed to come naturally alongside it. She was surprised Draco hadn't said anything sooner. He must have been furious to see her holding Harry's hand.

The brunette's eyes closed slowly. When she opened them again, Draco was watching her with a crease between his brows.

"You were there for me the night it happened, Draco." Amora felt cold thinking about that day. "You holding me and wiping my tears meant the most to me. Sometimes, I don't like to be the one that talks. Sometimes I just want to be held."

Draco didn't say anything.

"I have to go," she murmured, "My detention starts in ten."

He watched her walk away.

D.M + A.B

When Amora knocked quietly on Professor Umbridge's door, she hoped that maybe the woman wouldn't answer and she would be able to retreat to her dorms and use that as an excuse. However, when Umbridge's sickly tone called out "come in" about five seconds later, Amora was left with no choice but to push the door open.

She wasn't sure what she was expecting when she walked inside, but it certainly wasn't a room as pink as Professor Umbridge herself. Dozens of plates hung on the taffy brick walls, mewling cats watching her every move as she glanced around cautiously. The woman herself sat behind a desk, a cup of tea in her hands as she sent Amora perhaps one of the fakest smiles she had ever seen.

"Good evening, Miss. Buckley," Professor Umbridge spoke gently, "Have a seat."

Amora slowly sat down in the chair that was behind a single desk next to Umbridge's, a sense of discomfort settling in her when she realised that there was no other seat for Harry. She guessed that they would be doing their detentions apart. Had he come before her or would he go after her?

"You're going to be doing some lines for me today, Miss. Buckley," Umbridge continued and Amora blew out a breath of relief. "You will be using one of my quills. It's a rather... special one of mine. No ink required."

The new professor selected a quill from her desk that had a large feather on the end. Amora was just surprised that it wasn't pink like everything else in the room. Umbridge stood and walked around to hand it to her, practically looming over her shoulder as Amora held it to the parchment.

"What should I write?" Amora asked quietly.

"'I must not talk back.'" Umbridge smiled, "We'll see how long it takes to sink in, yes?"

The teenage girl gripped the quill so hard that she was worried for a second she'd break it and get into even more trouble. Amora exhaled quietly and leant over the parchment, as if to attempt to conceal it from the looming woman behind her, and began to write her lines.

I must not talk back. I must not--

A burning sensation pinched at her other hand, like a thousand needles digging into her skin and breaking it. It was crimson and cursive, her own blood bubbling past the surface to create the very words that she had written on the parchment. Umbridge had been right to call it a special quill. Amora dropped the stationery, hissing as she grasped her hand and peered up at the woman in horror.

Umbridge giggled. "Yes, Miss. Buckley?"

The look behind those cold beady eyes was telling her to pick the quill back up unless she wanted trouble. Amora opened her mouth to protest, but instead swallowed harshly and glanced back down at her injured hand. It stung and burned already, and the pain only intensified as she wrote out the next line... and the one after that... and the one after that...

At one point, Amora realised that her hand was starting to feel quite numb, but... in an extremely disturbing way, the physical pain felt somewhat better than all of the emotional pain that she had been having to deal with for the past few months. It took her mind off of Cedric, it made her stop feeling guilty for being alive without him because she was in pain.

Tears streamed down her cheeks and Umbridge called it a night after what must have been an hour. Amora dropped the quill as soon as the woman had cleared her throat, tucking both hands past her robes and yanking her backpack up off of the ground. She turned from the door, about to open it when Umbridge called her name.

"I will see you again the same time tomorrow, Miss. Buckley," Umbridge said softly, "Just so we can be absolutely positive that you have learned from your mistakes."

Amora didn't reply but grabbed the door knob-- "Remember, Miss. Buckley. You must remember that, deep down, you know you deserve to be punished."

The brunette didn't look back but yanked the door open and stepped out, nearly bumping into Harry who was raising his fist to knock. Amora's teary eyes widened, realising that he was about to serve his detention.

"Harry, I--" Amora was about to warn him, when Umbridge cut in once more.

"Ah, Mr Potter. Please, come right through."

Harry frowned at Amora as if to say 'tell me later' and moved into Umbridge's office. As soon as the door slammed shut behind him, Amora felt a sense of dread and guilt. She moved further down the halls, away from Umbridge's office, and then lifted up the sleeve of her robe. She grimaced at the red, splotchy skin, her nose scrunching up at the smeared blood and the words 'I must not talk back' dented in beautifully joined handwriting.

Oddly enough, her very first instinct was to go running to Leon. The next was to go see her new Slytherin friends, but then she thought Draco wouldn't be too happy with her at the moment. He hadn't said anything, but she could see it in his eyes that he was angry.

Cedric came next, but her heart panged at the memory of his body lying on the Quidditch pitch, and she realised that she should probably just keep her mouth shut anyway. She didn't need to be writing 'I must not spread rumours' this time next week into her hand.

So Amora retreated to her dormitory, finding the other girls all sat around. Kathy gave a forced smile as soon as Amora entered, and even followed her into the bathroom as Amora began to wash her hands. Kathy didn't notice the way the water turned a reddish colour as it went down the drain, she was too focused on the brunette's face.

"Amora, we haven't properly caught up yet," the blonde beamed.

Amora nodded. "Yeah. I've been quite busy."

"Right, right. Well, I just wanted to let you know that I missed you this summer," Kathy said, "I would have written to you, only I was worried you were angry with me over what Leon did."

"It's not your fault," Amora mumbled as she dried her hands with a towel.

"Well, I was thinking, right? Why can't we just put it all past us? Leon knows about you and Draco, and he apologised, so perhaps you can work it out now? Start on a clean slate where there are no secrets and everybody is open," Kathy grinned, "What do you think?"

Amora paused. She was in a bad mood from Defence Against the Dark Arts class and the detention with Umbridge, so she didn't want to say something she might regret. Amora took a deep breath in, and a deep breath out.

"That's not the point, Kathy," she replied with. "The point is that I can never trust him again."

Kathy's smile faltered a little. "Ah, but that's what's so great about starting on a clean slate and then having no secrets! You never have to give Leon a reason not to trust you again--"

"Kathy, would you please just stop trying to make everybody friends with one another?" Amora suddenly burst, her face scrunching up. "Not everybody needs to be best pals. And I have my reasons for keeping my relationship with Draco a secret from Leon. He hates Slytherins. He always made fun of be when I had that stupid thing for Blaise Zabini in the first few years. I would have told him in my own time. I wasn't ready. I don't care if he never trusts me again anymore, because I don't trust him either."

Kathy looked quite teary as she moved to grab Amora's arm. Amora shrugged her off of it. "Look, I like you Kathy, okay? You're good for Leon and last year you were really fun to be around, but I don't need to talk to you about this. If Leon's telling you to come up to me and say this, then you should just tell him that he's lucky I don't go to Dumbledore and tell him he's been tampering with Veritaserum."

Kathy gasped, her hand on her chest. "Amora!" She cried, "You-- You wouldn't, would you?"

"So long as he leaves me alone," Amora muttered, cradling her injured hand and leaving the bathroom.

Her first day of fifth year had been shit.


	46. Chapter 46

You must remember that, deep down, you know that you deserve to be punished.

The words replayed in Amora's head all day and so did the sensation of what felt like a small knife carving into her left hand. It was quite swollen and irritated the morning after, but Amora supposed that was the point. She wondered if it would scar and realised that, by Friday (the last day of her week of detentions), it most likely would.

I must not talk back.

Amora wondered how Professor Umbridge was even allowed to carry out such punishments on her students. How was Professor Dumbledore even allowing this? Surely Professor McGonagall would have something to say? But nobody had even mentioned the new form of punishment at Hogwarts, not even Harry the next day when they made eye contact.

Did he have to sit through that torture to? By the way that he avoided her gaze, she supposed he probably had. Amora caught him clutching his hand through Care of Magical Creatures with Professor Grubbly-Plank, but as soon as he saw her looking, he stopped. If Harry wasn't going to say anything, she wasn't going to say anything either. She didn't want to come across as weak or something.

"So," Pansy huffed, taking a seat beside Amora in the library. "Why is Malfoy being more of a dick than usual?"

Amora frowned and glanced up at her. "Huh?"

"Your boyfriend," Pansy emphasised, "He got back to the common room last night and nearly exploded at some first years for talking too loud. Bear in mind that it's their first bloody day-- even I thought that was harsh. And at dinner he didn't say a word, just moped about like some sad loser."

Amora grew concerned for Draco and then recalled the conversation that the two of them had shared yesterday. She hadn't really been thinking about it too much since Umbridge's detention, but she supposed it had been on his mind. She really hoped that he didn't think she preferred to talk to Harry over him. That wasn't the case at all.

"I'll talk to him," Amora murmured as she finished up her made-up dream for her Divination class. "I haven't seen him yet today, though."

"Yeah, he's bunking off," Pansy replied with a roll of the eyes. "Second day, too. Zabini and Nott said he was faking some illness so he can lie around in bed all day."

Amora's brows furrowed. "Oh. Well, I'll talk to him as soon as I see him tomorrow, then."

"No, you're coming to the boys' dorms with me after last period today," the ebony-haired girl huffed, sending her a pointed look when Amora opened her mouth to protest. "Malfoy is an insufferable twat when he's in a bad mood. The longer you leave him, the worse he gets. And I have prefect duty with him tonight."

"I can't," Amora said, "I have detention with Umbridge tonight after lessons."

Pansy's face screwed up. "Again? For how long?"

Amora sighed. "Until Friday."

"Merlin's beard, she's harsh. Remind me not to ever get on her bad side," Pansy chided, "What's she got you doing?"

"Just... writing lines," the brunette muttered.

Another reason she was feeling so glum was due to her morning on the Astronomy Tower. She'd tried to go to the edge again (and succeeded) but she hadn't been able to pull her hands away from the bars for less than a second before she was panicking and having to stumble back six feet.

At this point Amora was prepared to accept defeat. Somebody else would just have to take over Cedric's spot as Seeker, and Amora hoped that, whoever it was, they were decent.

When the end of another long day came, Amora found herself sitting back in the same desk she had been in twenty four hours ago. Umbridge delicately placed the quill to the side of Amora's parchment and Amora swallowed thickly, her eyes darting to her wounded hand.

"Professor Umbridge?" Her gentle tone caused the woman's blue eyes to snap up. "I think that the words have sunk in already."

"Don't be so silly, Miss Buckley," Umbridge giggled, "I want these words to have a more permanent effect on you. So you will definitely learn from your mistakes."

So Amora wrote out her lines for the second night in a row. Her left hand burned and ached to the point where the pain felt like it was spreading down her wrist. Her brand new lines copied above the wounds from yesterday, digging in deeper and destroying the flesh that was beginning to try and heal. This time no tears leaked, but they burned and threatened to come out.

Umbridge sent her away with the same words as last night. Remember, you deserve to be punished.

For what? Amora wanted to scream this desperately in the woman's face. For defending her deceased cousin? For trying to get her to listen to Harry-- also known as the only person to have been there that night?

Amora went to bed that night and silently cried into her pillow, thinking of Cedric and the pain in her hand.

On the third day, Amora woke to the sun shining brightly in the sky, which was such a contrast to her current mood. She needed to sort everything out, and she needed to do it quickly. Otherwise, she knew she was guaranteed to become depressed-- Hermione's Muggle book about grief had told her this itself.

"First night of patrolling today, Amora!" Ernie grinned excitedly, taking the seat beside her at the Hufflepuff table the next morning. "Looking forward to it?"

Amora pulled a face like she was considering it. "Eh," she replied, "Depends. I don't feel like dishing out detentions and getting in peoples' bad books."

Ernie's face lit up as he scoffed. "That'll make a change from the Slytherins, then! Malfoy and Parkinson had their first night patrolling yesterday-- I heard they gave two Gryffindors detentions for walking back from the bloody Hospital Wing!"

It certainly sounded like Draco and Pansy.

Amora offered him an amused smile as she shovelled the last of her porridge into her mouth and pushed her bowl forward. She'd arrived down early, hoping to catch Draco so she could talk to him, but he still wasn't down yet. Only minutes later, when most of the hall was filled with students, did the blond emerge, his face holding its permanent scowl.

She sighed, her cheek resting on her hand as she watched the rest of her housemates all interact, laughing and joking about. Amora absentmindedly glanced down to the end of the table where Cedric's friends were, her heart clenching at the empty seat he would usually sit in. Amora buried her face into her hands and listened to the chatter all around her until the first period came.

Unfortunately, Draco wasn't in her first couple of lessons so she wasn't able to corner him, but she did catch sight of Theo walking away from the library as the second period transitioned into lunch.

"Theo!" Amora called, dodging past a group of first years to get to him.

"Hey, Amora," he greeted, walking in step with her towards the Entrance Hall. "What can I do for you?"

"I need to talk to Draco," she replied, "Do you think you could tell him to meet me outside for lunch?"

Theo winced. "Ah, no can do, Buckaroo. Ha!" He began to laugh. "Do you get it? Because your name is Buckley."

"Yeah, you have my stomach in Notts from laughing," Amora deadpanned back, attempting to keep a straight face but giggling as soon as Theo did. "Ah, no, seriously-- how come?"

"Slytherin team is practicing," Theo said, "Snape got us the pitch for lunch."

"I thought tryouts weren't until Friday?" Amora furrowed her brows.

"They're not, but we all know exactly who's staying on and who's getting replaced." Theo rolled his eyes. "Might as well get a headstart. It's Gryffindor's first proper year without Wood as captain, rumour has it Angelina Johnson's taking over."

Amora furrowed her brows as they walked out into the quad. She realised that she was following him to the Quidditch pitch, but she'd trail off before then.

"Why do you guys only care about Gryffindor's team?"

"Well, no offence, 'Mora, but they're our biggest competition. Ravenclaw's eh, and Hufflepuff's... Well..." Theo paused in his track, scratching the back of his neck. "Not really a problem at all."

Amora scoffed, rolling her dark eyes. She'd heard it all before, ever since her first day at Hogwarts. Sometimes she wished that the Hufflepuffs would just get as competitive as the other houses and stop focusing on just being content with everything. She'd love to see them win something for once.

"I said no offence," Theo added when he saw the look on Amora's face. "But I'll tell Draco to meet you after lessons, yeah?"

Amora shook her head. "Can't. I have detention and then prefect duty. Tell him I need to talk to him tomorrow."

Theo winced and then nodded, walking away. Amora furrowed her brows, wondering what that look was all about before she began to head back into the school.

Lunch zoomed by as she sat with Hannah and Zena, the three of them exchanging Herbology notes from the lesson before. The period after that went by fast too, and then it was time for Amora's third detention with Umbridge.

"Welcome back, Miss. Buckley," Umbridge had beamed as soon as she had walked through the door, and Amora swore she'd never wanted to punch somebody so badly. "I'm sure you're aware of the routine by now. Take your seat."

Amora did as she was told and picked up the Black Quill. She took a deep breath before continuing on with her lines, trying to go as slowly as possible so she didn't have to write as much in her hour slot before Harry's detention. Umbridge seemed to pick up on it, a snide smile crossing her face as she cleared her throat.

"If you wish, Miss. Buckley, I can easily extend your detention for longer so you are able to write a substantial amount. I understand your hand must be aching after a long day of lessons," Professor Umbridge chuckled.

Amora gritted her teeth and picked up her pace. "I'm fine, thanks," she nearly spat.

Her left hand continued to bleed and the sensation was nearly sickening, especially as it ripped through her old wounds again and again. It almost felt like it was going deeper with each stroke of the quill. Amora was sure that by the time she was finished on Friday that she would have the ugly scar on her hand for the rest of her life.

Part of Amora, after about half an hour of writing lines, began to somewhat become accustomed to the pain. It felt wrong and made Amora sick to her stomach, but it almost felt nice to be experiencing pain that wasn't emotional for once. It took her mind off of Cedric, off of everything really. Amora knew it wasn't healthy to feel that way. She wished she didn't.

When her hour was up, Amora peeled open the door and came face to face with Harry once again. His green eyes widened and darted down to the hand that she was clutching. He saw the smeared blood and his jaw clenched.

"Amora--"

"Mr. Potter, right here, please," Umbridge boomed from behind her, making Amora wince.

She shot him a weak smile and squeezed his hand as she walked by. Amora made it back to the Hufflepuff common room in no time and moved to the bathrooms where she washed her hands, ridding it of any blood. Amora felt sick when she looked down at her hand, seeing the white and pink scarring and the new cut rising above.

I must not talk back.

Suddenly, she was bent over the toilet, emptying her stomach's contents. Once she was done, her hands continued to shake and she blinked again and again, trying to get rid of the sickening sensation in her stomach. She brushed her teeth and washed her mouth out, vowing not to look down at her left hand again tonight.

"You all right, Amora?" Zena called from outside the bathroom, rapping her knuckles gently against the door. "Did you just be sick?"

"Yeah," Amora groaned, "Yeah. I'm fine." 

D.M + A.B

"I didn't know those kinds of punishments were allowed at Hogwarts."

"Yeah," Amora murmured, barely glancing up at Ernie as they walked through the darkened corridors of Hogwarts. "Me either. She's been giving them to Harry too. She's what the Muggles mean when they say 'wicked old witch', I reckon."

Ernie laughed in agreement. "Maybe try going to Professor Dumbledore about it?" He suggested, "He might tell her she can't do it."

"She's part of the Ministry, she wouldn't just break the rules," Amora reminded him, "I'm sure if she's doing it then it's already been approved. I don't think she'd risk her job to carve things into kids' hands."

"Okay, it sounds way worse when you put it like that," the Hufflepuff boy shuddered from next to her. "I seriously hope I never forget my homework in her class or anything. I don't fancy cutting into my hand. I get squeamish at the sight of blood."

Amora hadn't really meant to tell her prefect partner about Umbridge's sessions, but she supposed it wasn't really that big of a secret. It was only a matter of time before more students started to get detentions and word spread what her form of punishment really was. Besides, Ernie had seen the wound on her hand when she had brushed some of her hair out of her face.

"Yeah, made me sick earlier," Amora said, "I think it's the cutting over the wound that makes it feel worse. 'Cause, you're, like, ripping a scab open, essentially. Again and again. Every night, for an hour. Sometimes the pain makes me feel like I should be bleeding to death or something, but I look down and it's just, like, a cut."

Ernie grimaced. "I think I'll be sick if you keep going on."

"Sorry," Amora replied.

They walked in silence beside each other and Amora came to realise how boring prefect duties really were. Draco and Pansy had probably given the poor Gryffindors a detention to give some sort of purpose to their night.

"Have you been in the Prefects Bathroom yet?" Ernie questioned after a few minutes.

Amora shook her head. "Not yet. Is it any good?"

"Amazing," he replied, "it's got a bubble tap and everything. And it's the size of a swimming pool."

The brunette raised her eyebrows. "I'll have to check it out."

"Also, I just wanted to let you know that I believe Harry," Ernie said, "I know not many people do. They're just being ignorant."

It was like a glimmer of hope had been lit in Amora's chest and she turned to softly smile at her partner. If Ernie had told her this only now, then there must be others who believed but wouldn't speak up.

"I'm sure he'd appreciate that, Ernie," Amora replied, "You should tell him. I think it would make him feel a little more optimistic."

Suddenly, cries began to come from around the corner. Both Amora and Ernie froze, eyes wide as they turned to glance at each other. It took a moment for them to realise that Moaning Myrtle hadn't left her bathroom and that it sounded like a younger-year student whimpering.

"Come on." Amora began to stride forward.

Ernie followed quickly, the pair turning the corner to find a second year crying on the ground. Amora instantly recognised him— Malcolm Baddock. He'd been the first year that Draco had ordered to deliver a letter to last year when Amora was stuck in his dormitory because Leon had spiked her with Veritaserum.

"Are you all right?" Amora approached him with a small frown, moving to kneel down by his weeping figure. "Hey, do you need help?"

Malcolm peered up from his hands, sniffling. "My head hurts."

Ernie's face scrunched up. "So why are you in the middle of the corridor crying about it?"

Malcolm started to cry harder. "I-I meant my legs!"

Amora frowned in confusion, her brows knitting together. "How did you—"

"Please take me to the Hospital Wing," the second year Slytherin begged, "It hurts to walk."

Amora grabbed her wand, ready to levitate him to take him directly to Madam Pomfrey when the boy panicked, shaking his head.

"No!" He blurted. "Carry me."

If she hadn't been so confused, Amora might have snorted. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a flash of platinum blond from behind a pillar and immediately understood.

"I can't lift you," Amora said, "You're nearly as tall as me."

It was depressing, but very true. He was about three inches off of Amora.

Ernie huffed. "I've got him. What's your deal with wanting to be carried, hm?"

Malcolm was pulled into Ernie's arms and the boy shrugged. "Being levitated makes me feel... travel sick."

"Right," Ernie said in disbelief before looking at Amora. "I'll take him to Madam Pomfrey. You keep patrolling and I'll catch up, yeah?"

Amora nodded, waving to him as he wandered away towards the Hospital Wing. As soon as he was gone, she folded her arms and turned around. She jumped, her nose nearly pressing against Draco's chest. He'd silently snuck away from his pillar.

"Really?" Amora quirked an eyebrow at him. "You seriously have first years doing your bidding for you?"

"He's a second year now," Draco shrugged. 

"Ah," Amora grinned lightly, amused, "Slightly more ethical, then."

Draco frowned at her smile. "So... you're not mad at me?"

Amora's smile fell. "What? Why would I be mad at you?"

"Well, I got funny with you on Monday, didn't I? Because I couldn't handle... Well, you talking to Potter about it and not me. And then I avoided you yesterday. And today Nott told me you 'wanted to talk'," Draco explained in a dreaded tone. "So? Are you about to break up with me?"

"No!" Amora exclaimed, snaking her arm past his neck and pulling him down to look her in the eyes. "Far from it. Pansy told me yesterday you were in a bad mood. I wanted to check up on you, ask you if you were okay."

There was a small silence as Draco's cheeks seemed to grow warm and he tried to look away. Amora saw his jaw clench and knew he was embarrassed.

"Because I care about you," Amora murmured and her heart pounded— they didn't really say stuff like that often. "And now I know that you're not happy with how our conversation ended on Monday."

Draco nodded. "I'm not."

Amora was grateful he was being honest with her. That he was actually opening up about his feelings.

"I went to Harry to ask what had happened to Cedric," Amora told him sincerely, "Not for comfort. I'm not close to him enough for us to comfort one another like that."

"Who do you go to for comfort?"

Amora thought about the last few evenings, heading back to her dorm after Umbridge's detentions with tears running down her face. Her first instinct had been Leon because that's just how it had been for the past five years, but next had been Draco. She'd gone to neither.

"Nobody?" She whispered with a small frown. "I know you think that I'm the talkative one between us, but I'm not very good at having people feel sorry for me. So I just sort it myself."

"You shouldn't," Draco said sternly, his hand sliding to caress her jaw. "You shouldn't bottle it up."

"Neither should you," Amora replied, "I wish you'd tell me what you were thinking. Especially about this Harry thing. Don't tell me you sat on it all summer?"

Draco gave a short nod. "It seemed rather insensitive to bring it up via letter. I know you were only confiding in... a friend," he gritted his teeth as he said it. "I don't want to control you. But I... You know I have trouble sharing."

Amora quirked a brow. "Sharing?"

"You know what I mean." He rolled his eyes. "Obviously you're not a belonging, but you're still mine."

Her heart fluttered and she reached on her toes, her hand snaking into the back of his platinum hair as their lips met in the middle. He kissed her softly for a few seconds before they pulled away.

"I know you tried to distract me from us talking about you," he murmured, "it won't work on me, Amora."

Amora huffed. "I'm working on it, okay? I know it's not healthy. I just get embarrassed over it. Must be a trait from my father. I don't think I've seen him smile since I was about twelve."

Draco knew all too well what it was like to gain unwanted characteristics from fathers. He stroked her hair.

"So if you don't want to talk about it, I'll hold you then," Draco said, "I'll hold you, Amora."

Amora's breath hitched slightly. He'd remembered what she'd said and obviously put some thought into it.

"I've just been feeling pretty shitty recently. Thinking maybe you'd rather talk to Potter because he's nicer than me and because he doesn't judge people. But I wouldn't judge you," Draco promised, "You're my exception, you got that? When I say I hate this school and I hate everyone— I don't mean you."

I love you, Amora thought. So much.

"You're secretly the biggest softie in this school, aren't you, Draco?" Amora whispered.

Draco leaned down and whispered teasingly against her ear, "Tell anyone and you're dead, Buckley."

Her heart fluttered for the millionth time. She didn't have the chance to react before he turned on his heel and began to walk away. Amora wanted to call after him, to tell him about Umbridge whilst they were on the topic of telling each other everything.

"Dra—"

"Leave it, Buckley," he snapped, her heart nearly dropping. "I get it. Ten points is a bit excessive for being out past curfew though."

Ernie was suddenly by her side and Amora thanked Godric that her boyfriend wasn't as oblivious as she was. She hadn't even heard him coming.

"Back to bed, Malfoy, it's past your bedtime," Amora called in a sickeningly sweet tone. "Sweet dreams, don't let the bed bugs bite!"

Draco smirked before he turned the corner. "Goodnight, Buckley. Try not to dream of me too much."

As soon as he was gone, Ernie chuckled. "Bit egotistical that one, huh?"

"You have no idea."

....


	47. Chapter 47

It was only the first week of September and already the sun was threatening to vanish. Amora shivered from beside Draco, shoving her hands into her robe pockets and burying her face against his shoulder. Leaves rolled by on the grass beneath them as the transition from summer to autumn began. Amora wasn't ready for it to leave yet.

"I can't tell if you're trying to cuddle me or if you're huddling close for warmth," Draco said, wrapping arm arm around her body anyway and allowing her to scoot a little closer. "Are you doing that penguin thing again?"

Amora laughed, a distant memory of being trapped in the school's library overnight with her enemy coming to the surface of her thoughts. She was glad that he remembered little details. It had her reaching for the golden badger pinned to her tie, her dainty fingers playing with it a little bit.

It baffled her how that was nearly a year ago now. It felt like so much had happened since then, yet rarely any time had passed at the same time. She could have chuckled remembering how much dread had filled her when she realised she was locked in with Draco Malfoy of all people. The tables certainly had turned.

"So what if I'm doing the penguin thing?" Amora gave a teasing grin. "Are you complaining?"

"I suppose not."

She thought about bringing up Umbridge with him, but she didn't want to ruin the moment they were having. It was so nice to just sit with him and feel this relaxed and comfortable. It made Amora want lunch to never end.

"Fleet came up to me at the start of the week," Amora casually mentioned, her hair whipping in the wind a little. "He asked if I wanted to try out as Seeker for the Hufflepuff team to replace Cedric."

"Yeah?" Draco hummed, "I didn't think you played."

"Only for fun at home," Amora replied, "My broom's rubbish and I can't fly too high without panicking, so Cedric and I just used to play one-on-one low. I used to play with my father when I was younger too."

Draco was silent for a few moments. "So I'm assuming you wanted to try out?"

"I wanted to," Amora sighed, "Every morning this week, I've gone up to the Astronomy Tower and gone to the edge. I can't do it without holding the rails, though. And now tryouts are tomorrow and I've made no success whatsoever. So that's that, I suppose."

"Well, I'm pretty sure Cedric would have admired the gesture, anyway," Draco said sincerely, squeezing her a little bit closer. "And I would offer to help you out, only you're right-- they are tomorrow."

"Doesn't matter." Amora shifted her head off his shoulder to lean against the tree. "I reckon you'd be the world's worst teacher, anyway."

Draco appeared personally offended by her remark, his nose scrunching up. "No, I wouldn't!" He scolded, "Why are you saying that?"

The brunette giggled as he pulled his arm away from her. "Because you get so frustrated and angry so easily. I can't imagine you trying to teach anybody anything."

"I'll have you know, I could be an excellent teacher if I wanted to be."

"Draco," Amora couldn't stop laughing, "I have seen you yell at several first years before. And just yesterday you used one to get rid of Ernie."

"I thought we already established that Baddock is a second year now?" Draco frowned, eyebrows shooting up in surprise when the giggling girl landed a kiss to his cheek, shaking her head in amusement. "I wouldn't yell at you, anyway. Even if you annoyed the hell out of me."

"What? I've never annoyed you a day in my life," Amora gasped, earning a pointed look from the blond boy.

"The first thing you ever did was annoy me, Amora," Draco replied stubbornly.

"Oh, please." Amora smacked his arm lightly. "I think when I bumped into you and you pushed me off, you looked into my eyes and thought 'Merlin, she is the most beautiful girl I have ever laid eyes on'."

Draco raised his brows. "You want to know what I actually thought?"

The joking smile diminished from Amora's face and she sat up, nodding eagerly.

"I thought 'Her plaits look like they were done in ten seconds,'"Draco replied bluntly.

Amora shoved him. "Seriously?"

"Yep," Draco shot her a smirk. "Why? Was it different for you? I bet you fell in love with me straight away, didn't you?"

The brunette ignored his casual use of the 'L' word, knowing that he hadn't been serious about it, but her hands spiked with sweat as she laughed and shook her head.

"I remember thinking you were the rudest person I ever met," Amora admitted, watching Draco's face contort in amusement. "And I had no idea who you were, until Neville told me you were a Malfoy, so apparently that meant you thought you owned the place."

Draco scowled as if he had a few things he could say about Neville himself. He restrained himself, rolling his eyes at the thought of a first year Neville Longbottom mocking him to Amora, and moved his arm back around her. She snuggled closer to him, the smell of her shampoo invading his nostrils.

"But you asked about me, didn't you?" Amora teased him, grabbing his hand and holding it between them, playing with the rings on his fingers. "'Cause afterwards, when I came looking for Neville's toad, you knew my name."

"Yes, well I wanted to make sure I wasn't making enemies with the wrong sort," Draco drawled.

Deep down, Amora was glad that it had been 'hate' at first sight. If they had just moved on with their lives, Amora wasn't sure they would be together today. They'd never have had all those arguments and even if they had still ended up locked in the library with one another, it meant they probably wouldn't have spoken to each other much.

D.M + A.B

Thursday night crawled by and Amora left Umbridge's office clutching her hand, tears welling in her eyes as she attempted to blink them away. A couple fell and sailed down her cheeks, much to her dismay. The blood stained the fingertips of her right hand as she moved into the nearest girls' bathroom, switching on the tap and allowing the water to run for a couple of seconds before placing her injured hand beneath it.

Blood washed away down the drain and soon, beneath the clear water splashing her skin, Amora could read the cursive words of 'I must not talk back', which were growing clearer and clearer with every detention that passed. She ran her hand under the tap, ridding the stained blood from her fingertips too. When her hands were finally clean, she pulled them back and shook them, glancing at herself in the mirror.

Amora looked pale, just like she always did when she left one of Umbridge's detentions. Her eyes flickered down to Cedric's prefect badge on her robes and she wondered what he would think of Umbridge. He would most definitely hate her, Amora decided.

She inhaled shakily, filling her lungs with air that didn't smell like Umbridge's tacky perfume. Amora could practically hear her giggle echoing in her ears as she began to leave the bathroom, freezing when she heard a sniffle come from one of the cubicles. The person had obviously thought she'd already left, as more sobs followed straight after.

Amora frowned, her heart sinking in her chest. She didn't know who was behind the door at the very end of the bathroom, or if they'd even accept her help, but she knew she had to offer it.

"Hello?" Amora called gently, hearing the sobs halt immediately. "Erm, are you okay?"

"Buckley?" The voice was thick with tears and broke halfway through her surname, but Amora knew exactly who it was.

"Pansy?" She breathed, walking over towards her cubicle and rapping her knuckles on it. "Yeah, it's me, Amora. Why are you crying?"

"I'm not crying!" Pansy snapped back, Amora flinching slightly. "Just go away!"

The brunette didn't move. She didn't want to be yelled at again, but she certainly didn't want to leave Pansy either. When she and Draco had had that fight, Pansy had been there for her and they weren't even friends at the time. Amora's feet remained stuck to the ground and she shook her head, despite the fact that the Slytherin girl couldn't see her.

"Pans... I'm not going to leave you here alone," Amora said sternly, "So you can come out now and we can talk this over, or I can wait here all night until you eventually have to come out for food and water."

There was a silence on the other end of the door. Amora was half-worried that she was about to get another earful from her, but she heard a small sniffle and then metal groan against metal as the lock slid open, the door slowly creeping ajar. Pansy stood there, her icy eyes rimmed red from crying and her nose pink.

"Oh, Pansy."

She felt Pansy freeze against her as Amora pulled her into a tight hug. Her body was as stiff as a board, her arms straight by her sides. Amora moved to pull away, worried she'd made her uncomfortable, when Pansy began to relax, crying into Amora's shoulder and holding her back. The Hufflepuff girl sighed knowingly and rubbed Pansy's back soothingly.

"You're okay," Amora murmured, "You're okay."

"No, I'm not," Pansy sobbed as she tore herself away harshly. "And you'll never understand, Buckley! So stop trying and just leave me alone. I want to be alone."

"Please, Pansy," Amora called desperately before the ebony-haired girl could leave. "Let me try and understand. Just tell me what's going on and I--"

"Just leave it, you-- you--" Pansy began to stammer on her words, tears splattering on her cheeks. "You filthy blood traitor."

Amora froze in her spot, a pang of hurt spreading across her entire body. Her mouth opened to reply, but nothing came out. She was stunned just as much as she was hurt by Pansy's words, watching the girl falter for a second before she shook her head and abruptly left the bathroom, leaving Amora by herself.

Once the initial shock wore off, Amora found herself back at the mirror, staring at herself as if to reassure herself that what just happened was real. Pansy had actually just said that, after months of them being friends. Amora didn't know if Pansy had said it with just the intention to hurt Amora, or if she truly meant it-- maybe a mix of both.

Her cheeks blazed in embarrassment and she began to wonder if all of Draco's friends thought that way about her. Maybe they only put up with her for Draco's sake. He'd probably threatened them or something.

Maybe even Draco still thought of her as a blood traitor deep down.

The thought made her feel sick. She splashed some water in her face and turned on her heel to leave the bathroom and return to her dormitory for the night. Her body collided with another as soon as she entered the corridor. The person's hand snapped out to save her from falling backwards, and Amora breathed out a sigh of relief at the sight of Harry.

"Did you just finish your detention?" Amora asked.

"Yeah," Harry replied, "I'm assuming she's doing the same thing to you as she's doing to me?"

"Yeah," Amora repeated Harry, extending her hand for him to read the words.

Harry shrugged his hand out of his own robes, showing her his. I must not tell lies.

"You have terrible handwriting," Amora tried to lighten the mood, earning a small smile from the brunet. "She's a dragon, that lady is. I don't know how Dumbledore or the Ministry or whoever approved that form of punishment sleeps with themselves at night."

"Dumbledore wouldn't approve," Harry said defensively.

"You--" Amora's brows furrowed. "You think she's doing this without him knowing?"

"Of course!" Harry replied, "I mean, surely. Dumbledore wouldn't allow this kind of thing to happen at Hogwarts. Is- Is that why you haven't said anything?"

"Yeah!" Amora said, "I thought it was normal. Why didn't you say anything?"

"Because I don't need everybody worrying," Harry answered regretfully, "I think Dumbledore's ignoring me. He did all summer. And I don't want Sirius involved. He'll only put himself in danger."

Amora wasn't really sure what was going on with Harry's godfather, just that while the media reported him as some sort of criminal, Harry said he wasn't. She assumed Harry knew where Sirius was hiding.

"Fair enough," she grumbled, "Do you think it will scar?"

"Probably," Harry answered.

The thought made Amora's stomach twist. She certainly didn't want the words in her own writing to carve into her skin for the rest of her life. Now that she knew it wasn't a normal punishment, that perhaps Umbridge was keeping this a secret from all of the other teachers, Amora thought about heading straight to her mother's classroom and telling her everything.

She left Harry with a soft goodbye and began to head back to the Hufflepuff dormitories, taking her sweet time as she did so. Her day had started off perfectly and she'd had the best lunch ever with Draco, but it had quickly turned sour as soon as Amora walked into Umbridge's classroom. Then, Pansy had insulted her whilst in a fit of rage and sadness.

Her mind was a jumble. She didn't know what to think about first.

D.M + A.B

Friday morning rolled around and it was quite a beautiful morning despite the twinge of chilliness in the air. Amora was halfway around the corner, heading towards the Great Hall for lunch, when a hand tugged her backwards. She beamed as she was brought into Draco's chest, his hands wrapping around her.

"Running off without me?" He murmured into her neck, making her squirm and giggle. He tightened his grip. "Are you eating with your Hufflepuff friends today?"

Amora shrugged. "Unless you'd prefer I sit with you."

Draco's eyes widened. "Well, I suppose you could pretend to be sat with Parkinson--"

"No," Amora cut him off abruptly. "I meant outside."

"It's cold out," Draco complained, tugging away from her when he saw a third year Ravenclaw come around the corner.

He shot them a deathly glare that caused them to cower past quicker. Amora rolled her eyes at his antics, feeling his hands back on her as soon as they were left alone again in the corridor.

"Pansy and I aren't really talking as of right now," Amora explained hesitantly, watching his brows shoot up in interest.

"Why not?"

Amora wasn't sure she wanted to drop Pansy in it with Draco. She was sure that it was just something the ebony-haired girl had just said in the heat of the moment, something that the girls could sort out between them without Draco rearing his head in and making things worse.

"We just had a disagreement, that's all," she said. "I'm sure we'll work it out soon. But, actually Draco, I had something else that I needed to tell you. Something I probably should have told you before."

Draco's brows furrowed as he seemed to completely forget about what Amora had said about Pansy, now focused on whatever it was that she had to tell him. Amora's stomach did a flip at the look and she grabbed his hand, pulling him towards one of the doors that led them outside.

Nobody was around, so Amora paused in her tracks and then hesitated before pulling up the left sleeve of her robe. Draco was frowning unsurely until she raised her hand and showed him the wound on it. His breath hitched, his jaw clenching and his silver eyes turning grey like storms. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her hand closer to his eyes.

"This is your handwriting," Draco said, his voice practically trembling with rage. "This is what Umbridge said to you on Monday."

Amora nodded and moved to pull her hand back, but Draco tightened his grip. His thumb moved to brush over the marking and she hissed in pain, this time managing to tug it back. Draco looked at her in a mixture of bewilderment and fury.

"It's what Umbridge has been making me do during detentions," Amora admitted to him, "It's some magic quill that carves into your hand when you write lines on the parchment. Doesn't need ink or anything."

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Draco spat, "Why have you waited five days to tell me--"

"Because we had that small argument before my first one, then I didn't see you all of Tuesday, on Wednesday we were interrupted but Ernie coming back—"

"So why not yesterday?" Draco boomed, "We spent the whole lunch period with each other yesterday!"

"Because you took my mind off it," Amora replied hastily, "I wasn't even thinking about it, and when I did, I didn't want this to happen. I hate arguing with you."

There was a pause.

"We're not— we're not arguing," Draco sighed in defeat, rubbing his forehead. "I'm just infuriated with that— that complete bitch of a woman, and I'm angry you didn't come to me sooner."

"I'm sorry," Amora blurted, "But it's not like she's targeting just me. Harry's been getting the same punishment and no doubt will anybody else who gets a DT with her."

"So? I don't give a fuck about Potter or anyone else," Draco seethed, "I give a fuck about you. And even when we're not talking, you should come to me for things like this. So I can hold you or whatever, since you don't like talking about anything with me apparently."

"It's not like that!" The brunette snapped.

"Well, does anyone else know?"

"O-Only Ernie 'cause he saw it. And Harry because we go into her office one after the other," Amora replied.

"Great. Another thing Potter knows that I don't." Draco looked away from her.

Amora swallowed. "Don't do that."

"Do what?"

"Constantly compare our relationship to my friendship with Harry! I- I—" she nearly paled at how close she became to confessing her love to him there and then. It nearly slipped out like it wasn't one of her biggest secrets ever.

"You what?" Draco hissed.

"I care about you," Amora glared, "A whole bloody lot, actually! And I do come to you about things. I've come to you now, haven't I?"

"On the day of your last detention, before I can do anything—"

"Draco, this is sounding a lot like an argument to me. A-And I'm sorry I didn't come to you sooner, but she's a teacher. She works for the Ministry. I just have to get on with it, don't I?" Amora huffed.

A sneer was present on Draco's face, his fists clenched by his sides as he chose his next words carefully.

"You annoy me." It was probably the lightest insult to every fall from his lips.

"You annoy me too," Amora glared back.

"Good."

"Good!"

The school bell rang and it was time for next period. Luckily, Amora didn't have it with Draco. They both glared at one another until Amora turned on her heel and began to walk away quickly. 

He grabbed her wrist and yanked her around, his lips on hers as he forced her against the wall of the school. Amora gasped into his mouth, his tongue slowly slipping inside as his hands gripped at her waist. Her own hands were in his hair, one of her legs hitching up a little as they worked to bruise each other's lips. 

He was so fucking annoying and intoxicating— his cologne infiltrating her senses and making her wish she could shove him off of her, but not being able to. When they finally pulled away, panting for breath, Draco sneered.

"You do not get the last word," he hissed.

"Yes I do," Amora replied bluntly before plugging her fingers against her ears and moving away from him, humming a loud tune so she didn't get to hear his next words.

She moved into the school and joined the crowds of students, removing her hands from her head just in time to see Draco enter the corridor. He stood out from his tall figure and platinum hair, and Amora caught his amused smirk.

He was infuriating in the best way possible.


	48. Chapter 48

"Your last detention, Miss Buckley," Professor Umbridge beamed at her, ignoring the fact that Amora barely even reacted to her words anymore. "You know the drill. Please take your seat. I'll just grab your quill and parchment."

Amora dropped her backpack down onto the floor beside her chair, taking her seat. She stretched her hands out in front of her, preparing for another hour of writing lines that would carve into her soft flesh. Umbridge placed the parchment and quill down in front of her seconds later and Amora hesitantly picked it up.

One of the only things getting her through her fifth hour of the week as the fact that it would be her last. After this, so long as she didn't disobey the wretched woman again, Amora would never have to write these lines.

I must not talk back.  
I must not talk back.   
I must not talk back.   
I must not---

The brunette was half way through her fourth line when there was a rapid knocking at the door. Umbridge sat up straight from where she had been marking essays, her thin brows knitting together and her nose scrunching up. She scowled when the banging on the door grew louder, getting up from her seat.

Amora craned her head over her shoulder to watch as Umbridge rushed towards it, yanking it open. Draco stood on the other side, causing Amora's breath to hitch. His silver eyes darted momentarily from Umbridge to Amora, and he began to talk quickly.

"Professor Umbridge!" He cried, "Blaise Zabini and Theodore Nott are duelling in the halls. They've-- they've come this close to hitting a group of first years. All of the other teachers, they don't care enough, Professor Umbridge-- I thought you'd be the only one to take it seriously enough--"

"Thank you for letting me know, Mr Malfoy," Umbridge squeaked, her cheeks reddening with rage as she moved back to her desk to grab her wand. "I trust you enough to please watch over Miss Buckley here and assure she is writing her lines. I will return as soon as I have caught Mr Nott and Mr Zabini."

"Yes, Miss." Draco nodded. "I think I saw them running towards the Great Hall."

Umbridge huffed and left the room, the door slamming behind her. Amora immediately released the quill, her eyes wide as she looked up at Draco. A million thoughts were whirling through her mind all at once. Like, for example, how much trouble Blaise and Theo could get in, and how it would have all been to help her. Nobody had ever done something like this for her before.

"Draco, are you mad?" Amora scolded as she watched him take his bag off his shoulder, placing it on Umbridge's desk and rummaging through it. "Do you realise how much trouble you three could get in? All your parents wanted you in good with Umbridge. She'll have you Blaise and Theo writing lines after this, and I only had fifty five minutes left-- I've already done four hours this week--"

"Do you ever shut up, Amora?" Draco sent her a look, pulling out a small glass bottle filled with a blue liquid. "Murtlap Essence. It should help with your hand."

The brunette peered down at it, swallowing at the swollen mess. Blood trickled where she had reopened her wound for the fourth time this week. Draco moved in front of her desk and crouched down, grasping the palm of her hand so he could see the top. He took out the glass pipette, releasing drops on Amora's hand. He did it again and then began to gently rub it into her wound, causing her to flinch.

"Sorry," he muttered.

"Draco, she could come back any minute," Amora whispered, staring straight down at the boy who was concentrating on what he was doing-- soothing her aching hand.

"Trust me," he scoffed, not looking up. "Blaise and Theo will have her chasing them for at least another fifty minutes. By the time she gets back, your detention will be over."

"But they'll still be in trouble--"

"And they'll pull the parent card. Works every time," Draco smirked, finishing up on smoothing the Murtlap Essence into her injured skin which was still slightly red, her handwriting etched above it.

Amora watched him as he tightened the cap back into the bottle and slid it into his bag, her heart skipping a beat. A sudden mewl came from behind her, causing her head to snap back around. The cats on Professor Umbridge's plates were all watching them, as if allowing her the chance to pick her quill back up before they went to report it to their owner.

Draco seemed to catch on and Amora swallowed, picking the quill back up again. She started to skim over the parchment, never actually touching it, and hoped that it would be enough to fool the animals. It seemed to do the trick, most of them turning away or going back to licking their paws and rolling about.

"I suppose I'll have to make it look as though I'm watching over you," Draco said, settling into Umbridge's chair and leaning his head back, studying Amora. "Or they'll go reporting to her?"

"I think." Amora nodded. "Are Blaise and Theo actually duelling?"

"Yeah," Draco chuckled, "Nothing too violent, though. Last I saw, Theo had slugs coming out his mouth and Blaise had horns on top of his head."

Amora bit back a giggle, shaking her head. Knowing them, they were probably more than excited to help out if it meant practicing hexes on each other. Her mood had suddenly lifted by a hundred times, feeling as though she was going to make it out of this week on a high note. She continued to pretend to write, but the purring sound around her suggested most cats had fallen asleep without Umbridge present.

"Thank you, Draco," she murmured after a moment or two.

Draco's eyes snapped up and he scratched the back of his neck. "Ur... yeah. Don't worry about it."

She chuckled at his reaction to a genuine 'thank you'. He began to tell her about his last lesson of the day, Charms, where apparently he'd accidentally blown up his textbook. He insisted it was humiliating and all due to Flitwick's poor teaching, but he couldn't help smiling when Amora laughed harder and harder.

"I'm serious, Amora," he huffed, "It wasn't my fault."

"Just admit-- you suck at Charms."

"Well, sometimes it's not about how good you are at a subject, but who you know," Draco grinned, "For example, my father plans on inviting over Griselda Marchbanks for dinner nearer the exams. For good measure, of course."

Sometimes Amora forgot what Draco could really be like. She paused with her fake-writing and looked up at him, raising her brows.

"And who is Griselda Marchbanks?"

"The Governor of the Wizarding Examinations Authority, of course," Draco shrugged, dismissing her judgemental look. "Father's been friends with her for years."

"You're smart though, Draco. Wouldn't you rather get good O.W.L.s on your own terms?" Amora pointed out, resuming her writing when a cat mewled particularly loud from behind her.

Draco shrugged. "I know. But father thinks it's a good idea. I can't argue with being rewarded higher grades."

Amora didn't reply, not wanting to say something that would piss him off, although it was pretty frustrating that she, and most other students at Hogwarts, would never get such an advantage. She'd just have to spend hours revising and stressing like everybody else and hope that the two weeks went by like a breeze.

She also thought about what Draco had said about Theo and Blaise pulling out the parent card to avoid detentions. She was more than happy that they weren't going to get into trouble for her, but deep down she wished that that kind of thing didn't persuade people.

"Spoken to Pansy yet?" Draco asked, "She's been being a right bitch since Wednesday."

Amora frowned, recalling what had happened in the bathroom the previous day. "No, I haven't seen her. Next time I do, I'll be sure to talk to her."

She hadn't thought much about being called a filthy blood traitor by someone she considered a friend. It had felt like a stab to the heart last night though, and the reminder felt bitter.

More time passed until eventually six o'clock came. Amora dropped the quill and grabbed her bag at the same time as Draco grabbed his, just as Umbridge came through the door. Her mousy hair was slightly ruffled and she puffed out air, seemingly disappointed that she hadn't made it back before Amora's detention had ended.

"Miss Buckley, I do hope you have learnt your lesson now?" She questioned, "And that the words have... sunk in?"

"Loud and clearly, Professor Umbridge," Amora spoke, returning her sickly sweet smile.

Amora was glad to see the back of her. 

D.M + A.B

"Leon! Leon! Leon! Leon!"

The excited chants of her ex-best friend's name brought a soft frown to Amora's face. Whether it was out of confusion or dismay, Amora wasn't exactly sure, but she found herself wandering over to the fire where multiple students sat around in their Quidditch uniform, and others who weren't. Leon sat in the middle of them, laughing at something that somebody had said, a glass of what looked like alcohol in his hands.

Her brows knitted together in confusion as a hand softly clamped down on her shoulder. Amora craned her neck up to see Herbert Fleet standing there, a sympathetic smile on his face.

"I was sad not to see you at tryouts today, Amora," Herbert said.

"Even if I wanted to, I couldn't. I was serving a detention," the brunette said, although she was more distracted by whatever everybody seemed to be praising Leon for. "What's going on?"

"Well, Leon's taken over for Cedric," Herbert grinned, "Captain and new Seeker! He's been wanting Seeker since second year. Think he's one of the best we've ever had. Although, nobody could beat Cedric of course..."

Amora zoned out, her heart thumping in her chest and her fingers curling into fists. Somebody had to replace Cedric, yet it hadn't crossed her mind that that somebody could be Leon Holloway. She sent Herbert a half-hearted smile, unsure if he was still talking to her or not, and drifted back towards the dorms.

In a fit of rage, she grabbed her pillow and threw it to the ground, alongside her duvet and the Potions book on her mattress. Amora grabbed some other books, about to toss them to the ground too, until she realised how much she'd regret throwing her most prized possessions afterwards. If she ended up denting or bending one, it would only make her more furious.

Instead, she grabbed the photo frame that Leon had gifted her for her birthday, the one that still sat behind all of her books on her bedside table, and she slammed it so it faced the wood. The pure image of Amora, Leon, Kathy, Harry, Hermione, and Ron standing in a snowy Hogsmeade, laughing and grinning, only made her feel sick.

She grabbed her pillow and her duvet and threw them back on the bed before launching herself on top of it. Why did it have to be Leon? Why couldn't it have been literally anybody else? Cedric really hadn't liked Leon towards the end of fourth year. It made Amora dislike him even more.

Laying on her back, Amora thought about her friends. Leon's betrayal had ripped a tear in her fairly new friendship with Kathy, and Ron, Harry, and Hermione had seemed to be rather busy recently. Not that she had been free- she spent a majority of her lunches outside with Draco, and if Amora wasn't serving detention with Professor Umbridge, then Harry was.

She thought of her new friends. Of Draco, Blaise, Theo... Pansy. Draco had mentioned that she had been off with everybody, so she knew Pansy's insult wasn't too personal. Nevertheless, Amora swore she would get to the bottom of it.

She wouldn't lose any more friends.

D.M + A.B

Amora spotted Pansy sitting by herself the next afternoon. It was an unusual sight really, normally she was sat amongst her Slytherin friends, laughing and chattering away like any other teenager. Today, though, Amora could see how exhausted she looked-- her sparkling blue eyes dim with bags beneath them. She was reading something, but it didn't look as though she was really following along.

Without saying anything, Amora took the seat in front of the ebony-haired girl, waiting until she looked up to give her a small, gentle smile. Pansy appeared slightly surprised, her mouth parting and her eyes washing over Amora nebulously.

"You're... sitting with me," Pansy stated, although it came out as more of a question.

"I am," Amora replied, "Do you know why?"

Pansy rolled her eyes. "Why?"

"Because you're my friend, Pansy. And I don't want us to stop talking because of whatever that was yesterday," the brunette said determinedly, "I know you're scared--"

"You don't know the first thing about me, Buckley," Pansy huffed, "And you shouldn't be sat here. Not after what I said. You need some more dignity--"

"Please, Pansy," Amora pleaded, "Don't shut me out. I'm not going to hurt you or judge you or tell anyone else. In case you haven't noticed, I've been a bit short on friends recently. I want you to trust me as much as I trust you."

Pansy blinked, a single tear landing straight onto the pages of the book in front of her. She clamped it shut and then glared up at Amora. However, as soon as she saw the solemn expression on the Hufflepuff's face, her guard let down and she sighed loudly, her bottom lip wobbling a little bit.

"You can trust me," Amora promised, "I just want to help you."

Pansy hesitated. "It's..." She inhaled shakily and then took her time to exhale. "It's my parents. They're just being too much right now. I did something over the summer. Something I shouldn't have done."

Amora's frown deepened. "What did you do?"

When Pansy blinked, a waterfall of tears silently cascaded down her cheeks again, but she acted as though they weren't even there. Amora shifted forward and grabbed Pansy's hand from the table, squeezing it. Pansy looked down at their fingers and she took a deep breath.

"I told them I'm a lesbian," Pansy replied, her face scrunching up. "I don't think it could have gone much worse, to be honest. I was promised a space at home so long as I never get into a relationship with a girl. A-And I just can't stop-- Oh, I fucking hate them, Amora. I hate them."

Amora shuffled from her seat and moved around, pulling Pansy into her arms. The girl began to quietly sob and Amora was thankful that the study room was empty. She held her tight, feeling Pansy's tears soak into the collar of her shirt.

"As soon as I'm eighteen, I'm fucking out of there," Pansy sniffled, "I'm fucking gone."

"I'll always be here for you, Pans," Amora promised in a hushed tone. "No matter what, okay? I'm sure my home is nowhere near as nice as yours, but if you ever need to get away from there during the holidays, it's open to you. Always."

"You know what's pathetic, Buckley?" Pansy half-laughed into Amora's arm as she pulled away. "We've only been friends about six months and you're still the best one I've ever had."

Amora thought about Pansy's friendship and everything she'd done for her. Helping her with Draco, telling her what to do, giving her advice, being so painfully honest and truthful, giving her reassurance, telling her not to befriend Leon again, helping her when she'd been given Veritaserum...

"You know what, Pansy?" Amora smiled back softly. "You're one of the best ones I've ever had too." 

D.M + A.B

Feeling pretty optimistic after her chat with Pansy, where the ebony-haired girl was just as furious to hear that Leon had taken over for Cedric, Amora felt the need to talk to Hermione, Ron, and Harry. She hadn't spoken to them at all since the train ride to Hogwarts, only Harry briefly the day before, and she didn't want to lose them either. Even if it hadn't been her intention to be distant with them.

Hermione said nothing about her distance as the brunette approached the Gryffindor table, instead hurrying to pull her down into the seat beside her and opposite Ron and Ginny. Ron was stuffing his face with food, causing Hermione to shoot him a disgusted look momentarily.

"Amora, has she been doing the same thing to you?" Hermione gasped, "Harry only told us last night!"

"O-oh, yeah," Amora replied, slightly surprised by the topic of discussion. "I've got no more left, though. It's quite disgusting, isn't it?"

"More than disgusting," Hermione disagreed, "The words vile, putrid, and revolting come to mind. You both did nothing wrong!"

"Thanks, 'Mione," Amora sent her a small smile. "How are you guys, anyway?"

"Good. 'Arry's in a mood, though," Ron said with his mouthful, jerking his head behind her.

Amora turned in time to see Harry approaching them all, looking somewhat bashful. He sent them all a nervous smile, his lips parting slightly when he saw that the Hufflepuff girl had sat with them. He opened his mouth to speak when Hermione interrupted him with a breathless sigh of relief.

"Harry," she greeted.

"Can I join you?" He asked.

"Pardon me, professor, but what exactly are you insinuating?" Professor Umbridge's shrill voice very nearly made Amora flinch from where she sat next to Hermione.

Amora stood beside Harry as they entered the Entrance Hall, finding Professor Umbridge with Professor McGonagall, the two women heading up the stairs and glaring at one another with so much hatred that if looks could kill, they'd both be six feet under by now.

"I am merely requesting that when it comes to my students, you conform to the prescribed disciplinary practices," McGongall huffed, Amora's eyes widening.

Someone had told Professor McGonagall. Harry looked nearly as stunned as she did as other students from the hall crowded behind them.

"So silly of me, but it sounds as if you're questioning my authority in my own classroom... Minerva." Umbridge took one more step up in an attempt to tower over the other woman, but McGonagall only followed.

"Not at all, Dolores, merely your medieval methods," the Head of Gryffindor house snapped back.

"I am sorry, dear," Umbridge said, appalled, and Amora swore she saw McGonagall's eye twitch at the condescending nickname. "But to question my practices is to question the Ministry, and by extension, the Minister himself. I am a tolerant woman, but the one thing I will not stand for is disloyalty."

McGongall took a step down. "Disloyalty?" She repeated, her voice dangerously low.

Umbridge turned so she was not only addressing the other witch but the rest of the students crowding around. "Things at Hogwarts are far worse than I feared. Cornelius will want to take immediate action."


	49. Chapter 49

Educational Decree Number Twenty-Three was enforced shortly after Professor McGonagall and, quickly after, Professor Buckley, tried to challenge Umbridge.

The Minister had demanded an educational reform, no doubt requested by the pink witch herself, and things at Hogwarts were said to change just as she had promised-- Dolores Umbridge was now the High Inquisitor, and parents were more than happy with the change considering most of the wizarding public had lost their confidence in Professor Dumbledore.

"What does that mean?" Amora asked her mother late Monday evening, after a boring lesson with Umbridge where the woman had made them put their wands well away and read from the textbook.

"It means Professor Umbridge may have more power than Professor Dumbledore at this point," her mother replied regretfully as she began to mark essays. "Or she's certainly getting there-- the wretched woman."

When McGonagall had told Buckley what had been going on, Amora's mother was more than furious. She'd had a few words to say to Umbridge herself, and even to Amora for not telling her. She'd been taken to the Hospital Wing where Madam Pomfrey had applied more Murtlap Essence like Draco had, however, she suspected that it was going to leave a permanent scar on her skin.

"Is it true? Is she doing inspections this week?"

"Yes," Professor Buckley nodded, "So I suggest you be on your best behaviour for all of your teachers-- Merlin knows what that woman will do. Attempt to sack half of the staff table, I bet!"

Amora left her mother's classroom with a soft frown on her face, worried that her job could be in jeopardy. Hopefully, Umbridge's inspection on her mother would run smoothly, and everything would go down fine. She was half way down the hallway when she heard familiar laughter, causing a small smile to tug at her lips.

"Blaise! Theo!"

The two boys turned at the sounds of their names, alongside Draco who frowned upon realising that he had not been called by his own girlfriend. She grinned as she jogged up to them, her robes flapping slightly before she grabbed the two tall Slytherins into a hug, her arms going over their shoulders. Blaise and Theo exchanged a glance with Draco before hugging her back slightly.

"Does she always do this?" Theo asked Draco, earning a small glare.

"I never got to thank the two of you for getting me out of that detention on Friday," Amora grinned as she pulled away, ignoring Theo's previous comment.

"Ah," Blaise waved a hand of dismissal. "That was nothing. All Draco's idea, actually."

"Still. I've already thanked Draco anyway," Amora beamed.

"Bet you have," Theo snorted, earning a vicious elbow to his side from the blond boy himself. "Hey, hey. Just joking, just joking. But it's not a problem, Amora. Anything to hex Blaise."

The brunette chuckled, shaking her head. Lessons had just finished about half an hour ago, so some people were hanging around in the hallways whilst others had retreated back to their common rooms or were heading to the library. It was one of Amora's favourite times of the day-- people usually didn't worry about tomorrow's homework until after dinner now, so it was sort of relaxing.

She opened her mouth to respond when Harry turned the corner, his eyes immediately locking with hers. Amora was stunned for a moment, backing away from the three Slytherins a little, her cheeks blazing. His brows furrowed and he began to storm over.

"Oh no..." She whispered under her breath.

"Wha--" Draco craned his head over his shoulder just as Harry reached them, moving to stand between them and Amora.

"Harry--" she started.

"Do you think it's clever? Three against one?" Harry questioned furiously, earning amused looks from the Slytherin boys.

Amora's cheeks felt hot. She couldn't let Harry embarrass himself like this, it was starting to embarrass her. She grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back, shaking her head at him.

"Harry, it's fine," she swore to him, "I was just talking to them."

Harry appeared taken aback and Draco raised a brow, wondering how far she was going to go with the truth. The green-eyed boy moved closer to her, his furious glare melting away to pure confusion.

"Blaise and Theo, I mean," Amora elaborated and it wasn't actually a lie. "They weren't ganging up on me, Harry."

"Yeah, Potter," Draco couldn't help but snide, folding his arms across his chest. "Buckley has friends other than you, you know."

Harry's jaw was still clenched as he stared past Amora at the three boys, almost like he thought that she could be lying to him. When Theo shot him an over-dramatic smile, Blaise's expression remained stone-cold and Draco shot his brows up, Harry's shoulders sagged in defeat.

"I didn't know you were friendly with them," Harry said.

"I did take her to the Yule Ball, in case you've forgotten, Potter?" Blaise said coldly, earning a small eye roll from Draco and a short nod from Harry.

"Well, I was just heading to meet Ron and Hermione, if you wanted to come?" Harry looked hopefully at Amora, now acting as though Blaise hadn't even opened his mouth.

She didn't want to humiliate him any further and nodded in agreement. "Sure," she said, sending a small smile to her three secret friends. "I'll see you later, Blaise and Theo."

"See you soon, Buckley," Draco called in a sickly sweet tone as she rounded the corner with Harry.

Amora bit back an amused smile. "He's such a twat. Just trying to get to you, Harry."

Harry nodded, but something felt off.

D.M + A.B

A couple of days later, Amora had endured all of her usual classes, however with an addition to them. In nearly every single one, Professor Umbridge hung around the back with a clipboard and a quill, inspecting every little thing the teachers said and did and taking a note of it. She nearly made Trelawney cry in Divination (where Leon pretended like Amora didn't exist), in Potions, Snape looked like he was about to explode, and Grubbly-Plank couldn't get a single word in during Care of Magical Creatures without her draining input.

It seemed like not a single teacher at Hogwarts actually enjoyed her presence, and none of the students either. It was easy to find her amusing when she was confiscating your enemies' sweets or giving them a detention for simply wearing their tie wrong, but smiles were wiped off of faces quickly after. She showed mercy to nobody, apart from Draco and his friends it seemed-- who all had parents high up in the Ministry.

"This place is being ruined by that monster," Ernie muttered as they walked into the common room after patrolling the corridors for a few hours. "She's acting like she's Headmistress or something. And where the hell is Professor Dumbledore? He's said nothing!"

"I know," Amora huffed, her eyes rolling when they landed on Leon surrounded by a punch of his Quidditch friends on the couches. "Hopefully he says something soon, though."

"Yeah..." Ernie sighed, "Anyway. Have a good rest of your evening, Amora. I'm gonna finish off my homework for tomorrow."

"Yeah, you too, Ernie. Night," Amora waved him off tiredly.

She was about to charm the watering cans to water all of the plants in the common room when she felt a tap on her shoulder. Amora turned, a small scowl making itself present on her face at the sight of Leon. His group were all chattering together and laughing, seemingly unaware that he had left them. Apart from Kathy-- she was watching them nervously.

"Can we talk?" Leon asked.

Amora sighed heavily. "Is that a good idea?"

"For closure to this friendship, I think so," Leon muttered.

It felt like the breath had nearly been knocked out of her lungs. She wasn't really expecting for them to do this today, but she supposed he was right. Amora was still irritated that he had managed to take over from Cedric as captain and seeker for the Hufflepuff team, but maybe this would sort some of that internal conflict out for her.

"Okay," she replied awkwardly.

The brunette followed the much taller boy back out of the common room, into the hallway filled with barrels. It was empty, nobody hanging around due to the fact that it was well past curfew. She folded her arms across her chest in an attempt to make herself seem stronger than Leon was.

"Draco Malfoy, Amora?" Leon questioned, his tone drenched in disbelief. "You could not possibly be serious?"

Amora glared. "Deadly. And I thought you wanted to talk seriously, not about Draco--"

"I just can't wrap my head around how you could do that to us? How could you do that to your friends, after everything he's done--"

"I'm not here for a lecture. Draco's not perfect, I get that, but he's different with me," Amora spoke breathlessly, "Not that that excuses his previous actions, of course. I've made it very clear to him that I don't like some of the stuff he says and does. But you can't blame me, Leon. I was only falling in love."

"In love?" Leon's eyes widened and he looked sick, his skin growing pale. "Amora, you must be under the Imperius Curse or some sort of love potion! He's using you to get to Harry--"

"Oh not this again," Amora scoffed, "Don't you think if Draco was using me to get to Harry, then Harry would know about it? Or if he was after information, he would have used the time you drugged me with Veritaserum to get it out of me. But guess what, Leon? He didn't take advantage of me like that!"

Leon sighed. "I apologised for that and you're being stupid if you think Draco will change for you or something, Amora. Just wait until Harry hears--"

Amora grabbed his wrist before he could turn on his heel and leave. "You're not going to tell Harry," she tried to sound as threatening as possible. "Because if you tell Harry- or anybody else!- I will go straight to Snape and tell him exactly what you stole from his office that day. I'm sure he wouldn't hesitate to tell Dumbledore."

Somewhere, Pansy Parkinson was grinning proudly.

Leon appeared horrified. He ripped his wrist from her grip and then grabbed both her arms, shaking her slightly, as if to try and knock some sense into her. Amora kept the scowl on her face. 

"Look what he's done to you, Amora!" Leon almost pleaded, "He's turned you into something you're not."

"For standing up for myself?" The brown-eyed girl pushed him off of her. "For not letting you control aspects of my life, Leon? Kathy said it herself a while ago. You act like you're my father or something! But you're not. You can't decide who I like and dislike, or how I feel."

"Draco Malfoy, Amora," Leon repeated, exasperated. "Muggle-hating-self-abosorbed-bully Draco Malfoy."

"I don't expect you to understand." Amora's lips pursed together. "I can feel him changing, though, Leon. Nearly every conversation we have, I feel like he's changing for the better. He has his moments--"

"Here comes your stupid saviour complex again. You think you can save him or whatever, but so long as Draco is a Malfoy, he will always be a prejudiced dickhead," Leon glared, "And it's honestly quite pathetic that you think he hasn't got some ulterior motive."

"He doesn't--"

"Amora? Leon?" Kathy retreated from the Hufflepuff common room before she began to grin. "Oh! Are you two talking again?"

"Yeah, for the last time," Amora spat coldly, "Cedric was completely right, you know. You're not even worth it. Even he liked Draco more than you in the end."

She began to storm away, heading for Merlin knows where, when she heard a scoff come from Leon. "Well, his opinion doesn't matter anymore, does it?"

Amora froze in her spot. The weight of Cedric's prefect badge on her robe felt ten times heavier than usual and her heart practically snapped into two as she was pushed into the cold reality that Cedric wasn't there anymore. Rage overtook her sadness, disgust replaced her teary eyes, and she swiveled around to glare at Leon.

She thought maybe she had misheard, that maybe Leon hadn't even opened his mouth, but the appalled expression written across Kathy's face told her all she needed to know. She had heard Leon loud and clear.

"What did you just say?" She growled.

"I'm just saying," Leon said bitterly, but even he sounded regretful now.

She supposed she could have hexed or jinxed him, but it was as if all memory that she had a wand in her pocket escaped her brain. Instead, Amora marched up to him, swung her fist back, and delivered a punch so hard that it sent Leon falling backwards. Kathy screeched, rushing over to her boyfriend and immediately cradling his head.

Her knuckles stung and she watched as crimson blood trickled from Leon's nose and towards his lips. The boy grunted, blinking rapidly as he lifted his fingers to his face, wincing when he touched his nose. He pulled away to see the red liquid sticking to his fingers, his eyes growing wide in horror.

"I should have done that a long bloody time ago!" Amora hissed at him, although guilt gnawed at her and left her feeling slightly frozen as she stared down at Leon and Kathy. "Consider that your closure."

Her hands shook a little as she grabbed her wand and quickly tapped out the password to the Hufflepuff common room, retreating inside. Amora went to her room and saw the photo frame lying facedown on her bedside table and, in a moment of rage, pulled open the pin on the back and reached for the photograph inside, shredding it to pieces.

Susan sat up in her bed, frowning at her in the dim light. "Amora, what are you doing?"

"Nothing, Susan," Amora replied hastily, yanking her robes off and putting them on her trunk. "Getting ready for bed."

She went to the bathroom and took a shower and dried her hair, returning to the dormitory maybe forty minutes later to find everybody in bed asleep, including Kathy. The brunette bit down on her bottom lip, her head feeling like it weighed a tonne from the amount of thoughts swirling around in it, and climbed into her bed.

It took her hours to sleep that night.

D.M + A.B

For the next few days, Amora felt like complete shit. Part of her regretted punching Leon around the face, purely due to the fact that she had been receiving a lot of looks from the Hufflepuffs in her year. Apparently, when Madam Pomfrey had asked him about his broken nose, he'd blamed Quidditch practice, but it didn't stop either him or Kathy from telling everybody else.

Zacharias Smith, who Amora had punched in a drunken rage before the summer, had made a bitter comment about her having anger issues as she passed him in the common room that Friday, and she couldn't even find it in herself to make some sort of witty response up back. Maybe she was developing some sort of anger problem. Or maybe she just wasn't letting people walk all over her anymore-- as suggested by Draco.

"It's not her fault," she'd heard Hannah whisper to Zena and Susan the day after it happened. "She's obviously finding it hard without Cedric..."

Yet still even the girls struggled to make conversation with her. It was like they were scared to set her off-- even though she'd let go of most of her anger by now. Hannah herself seemed to be struggling to believe her own words, only ever smiling unsurely at Amora every morning and night.

Since becoming somewhat of an outcast in her own house, Amora found herself clinging into Draco at any spare moment she had for the rest of the week. When he had prefect duties that Friday night with Pansy, the two Slytherins allowed her to tag along, her golden robes hugging her as she tiptoed through the corridors, listening to Pansy rant about the Hogsmeade trip tomorrow.

"I hate that you two have to keep it a secret," she huffed, rolling her eyes. "Otherwise, we could have all gone to the Three Broomsticks or something."

Amora sighed. "I wish. I know Harry was weirded out simply by me talking to Blaise and Theo the other day. And they don't like that I talk with you either, Pans. I know they'd all have aneurysms if they found out I was dating Draco. You should have seen Harry's face after Crouch Jr put me in the lake and I said that Draco was 'alright' after he said Draco must have done it!"

Draco scoffed. "The day our secret gets out is the day I get my camera out to capture Potter's reaction. I truly can't wait."

Amora nudged him with an amused smile. "That's not very nice."

Draco raised his brows, portraying some amusement of his own. His face said it all-- she should know by now that he wasn't 'very nice', especially when it came to Harry Potter. Nevertheless, her words brought out amused chuckles from both Draco and Pansy.

"Did you feel bad getting with Draco? 'Cause Potter has a crush on you and your friends," Pansy asked casually, making Amora's cheeks burn a little.

Draco rolled his eyes. "Bit invasive, Parkinson. And not awkward at all to gossip about in front of me."

"Then leave," Pansy said as if it was obvious.

"Obviously I did, but I'm not responsible for Harry's feelings," Amora said, "I mean... Is it strange that it was Draco of all people? Yeah... But... I can't really help it, I guess, can I? You like who you like. One day, hopefully, Harry will be able to understand."

"So when are you gonna make the grand announcement?" Pansy wiggled her brows after a moment of silence. "C'mon, I told my parents I was gay-- it's your turns to come out."

Amora giggled and shook her head, but Draco clenched his jaw. "Yeah, and that didn't turn out great for you, did it?" Draco huffed, now having heard about why Pansy had been so distraught recently. "If Potter's having an aneurysm, my father's having a full blown heart attack."

Amora's smile drifted and she nodded along. It hurt whenever she was reminded that she would potentially never be able to end up with Draco in the end. She loved him, even if she hadn't told him yet, and she couldn't see herself with anybody else. Part of her wanted to run away with him, to a place where none of their families or Amora's friends could disrupt them and try to drag them apart because of different political beliefs.

"Hermione's already asked me to go to Hogsmeade with her anyway," Amora tried to change the subject, sensing the tension that had been created. "I wasn't planning on going otherwise."

"Why not?" Pansy asked, just as footsteps came around the corner.

Amora flinched, prepared to hide if it was Filch and Mrs Norris, but her breath was caught in her throat at the sight of Leon and Kathy. Their hands were linked and they were smiling at one another, but they froze upon hearing Draco clear his throat. Both their eyes widened, especially when they landed on Amora standing with them.

"That's 20 points from Hufflepuff each and a detention for the two of you next Monday," Draco spat, marching closer to them. "For breaking curfew."

His silver eyes passed over Leon's face, narrowing on faint bruising beneath his eyes. Draco despised Leon with all of his heart, nearly as much as he did Potter these days, and he had begun to hate him even more when he found out that Leon had taken over as Captain and Seeker for the Hufflepuff team. He supposed it would give him the chance to beat his ass out on the pitch for hurting Amora.

"Is she getting a detention too?" Leon glared, jerking his head towards Amora who stood next to Pansy.

"She has a name," Draco seethed, "Not that morons like you should be using it, I suppose. Another ten points each because I don't like you. Now back to your dorms before I have to hex you there myself."

Kathy shot Amora a sad look as she grabbed Leon's hand tighter and dragged him past them. Amora felt like she could finally breathe again once they were gone, Draco back by her side.

"Yeah, that's the reason I wasn't going to go to Hogsmeade," she said dully, "I may or may not have punched Leon across the face the other night and now everybody thinks I'm going to explode on them next. Just because I also punched Zacharias in June--"

Pansy snorted, her hand covering her mouth. "You didn't."

"Well, he didn't leave me much choice!" Amora protested, "Both of them were being extremely insensitive and my words were failing me..."

"You literally have a wand, Amora," Draco deadpanned, although highly amused.

Despite being subject to one of her attacks in the second year, he didn't think Amora was the type to act irrationally. Perhaps she had been thinking rationally and punching her enemies had been totally plausible on both occasions. Nevertheless, he was glad to find that she was getting better at standing up for herself.

"I know, but..." Amora was at loss for words. "It felt more personal."

Pansy practically cackled. "I like this Amora."

The brunette girl rolled her eyes with a small smile. "Maybe we can all do something tomorrow after dinner? When I get back from Hogsmeade?"

"Sounds good," Pansy replied, Draco nodding along.

They began to approach the Hufflepuff common room about twenty minutes later and Draco shot Pansy a warning glare, silently ordering her to leave them alone. The dark-haired girl huffed and mocked a small salute in their direction before wandering back to the Slytherin dungeons, leaving Amora and Draco alone behind some barrels. His hands moved to her hips and he leaned down, kissing her lips gently.

"I'll see you tomorrow, darling," Draco murmured, the nicknames sending butterflies soaring through Amora's stomach.

He'd only used that nickname once before and he'd regretted it immediately after, but this time he seemed so sure, his silver eyes melting in the dimmed lights as he peered into her latte-coloured ones. Amora chewed down on her bottom lip, trying to prevent a grin as she leaned up and pecked the corner of his mouth.

"See you tomorrow, Draco."

...


	50. Chapter 50

A few weeks passed and October rolled around rather quickly. Amora found it had to believe that a whole month had gone by since her fifth year had started, and a little less time since her housemates began to shut her out. She kept her mouth closed, hid in her dorm room when everybody hung out in the common room, and snuck off most days to go and eat dinner or breakfast with her Slytherin friends somewhere else.

The only people that seemed okay with talking to her still were Hannah and Ernie, but Amora wasn't sure if Ernie was simply being kind to her because they had prefect duties together, or if he truly meant it when he apologised for how everybody else was reacting. Hannah was more neutral-- she didn't necessarily defend Amora, didn't try reaching out, but she didn't stare either-- not like the others.

If they knew why she had punched Leon in the first place, she doubted they'd be staring half as much. Everybody loved Cedric and she knew exactly how to get everybody to like her again, but she couldn't find it in her to do it. To rip everything away from Leon when he was actually thriving without her. 

Amora had never felt so hated in her life. She didn't even feel this hated when Draco made rude remarks before they began dating, or when Crabbe and Goyle hexed her in the hallways after the Yule Ball. So many people seemed to not like her anymore that she was actually beginning to feel like she really was losing her mind. Word was reaching the other houses slowly but surely. 

She wasn't quite sure how exactly things had done such a 360. Before this school year had started, Amora could honestly say that she didn't think anybody held a grudge against her (minus Crabbe and Goyle of course, but they were too scared of Draco to do anything about it now). In fact, she'd been so friendly with everybody that she'd struggled to think of who could have possibly hexed her to fall under the ice that March. However, now, Amora could think of numerous people, and the thought was quite heartbreaking to the Hufflepuff.

"Draco Malfoy!" Amora screeched, marching over towards her boyfriend and his group of friends as they hung around the empty quad. "Did you hex Leon?"

Draco smirked, peering down at the shorter girl. "Yes," he said bluntly. 

Theo pushed him aside a little to face Amora, also grinning. "Pulling his trousers down was my idea. Did you like it?"

Amora folded her arms across her chest and glared at the two of them. "It's not okay to dangle people by their ankles and publicly expose them like that!"

"Oh, come off it, Amora," Pansy giggled, "It was hilarious. The git deserved it after the past few weeks you've been having."

Everybody else was nodding in agreement, causing Amora to sigh. "People are going to say I set this up. They're under the impression that I'm... mentally unhinged or something."

Draco's jaw clenched. "I hate the bastard. He deserves everything he gets. And you need to tell everyone why you punched him in the first place."

"No," Amora whined, "I don't..."

"Yeah, yeah, you don't want to be a bad person," Draco huffed, rolling his eyes. "Getting someone into trouble doesn't make you a bad person."

"Especially when they actually did it," Blaise agreed, "C'mon, Amora. Pansy and I have come up with a few different scenarios to expose him. Number one, send him a Howler. That would be funny--"

"-- That one's my idea--" Pansy butted in. 

"Number two, we wait until Hufflepuff have a match, which isn't for a while, but--"

"Thanks, Blaise, but I'm thinking I just wait until it blows over," Amora sighed.

"You're being no fun at all," Theo pouted, "Where's the Amora that boxes people who piss her off that Draco and Pansy were telling me about?"

"I'll box all of you in a minute." Amora raised a brow. "And I would win."

"One on four, yeah?" Blaise grinned, swiping his tongue across his perfectly straight teeth. "Potter wouldn't like that, would he? He'd think we were ganging up on you."

Amora shoved him a little bit. "Leave him alone," she sighed, "To be fair to him, I did look pretty terrified when we locked eyes. Only because I thought he was going to work it all out."

"Potter's too stupid," Draco declared, choosing to ignore the look Amora gave him. "Seriously, though. The amount of times he could have figured it out. I don't think there's many brain cells in there at all. He just wins things out of sheer luck."

When the other Slytherins made murmurs and snickers of agreement, Amora decided to keep her mouth shut and simply roll her eyes for the hundredth time that morning. It was obvious that she got no say in what they did or said-- that had been proved when she walked into the Great Hall that morning to see Leon hanging in the air by his ankles, his school trousers pulled down to reveal his black boxers. Kathy had been horrified, climbing up on her seat to try and get him back down. 

"Amora, if they give you any more trouble, let one of us know, yeah?" Pansy said, moving to grip the other girl's wrist for emphasis. 

Amora nodded, hoping that she would never have to.

D.M + A.B

"Trelawney's getting sacked!"

"Umbridge is kicking her out!"

Amora's brows furrowed, watching as herds of students travelled past her in the corridor, the taller ones nearly knocking her over. She caught the jist of what was going on through jumbled, mismatched conversations, her heart dropping in her chest. Perhaps Divination wasn't her favourite subject in the world and Trelawney wasn't the best teacher, but she didn't want to see her go-- especially not by the hands of Professor Umbridge.

Amora picked up her pace, following the crowds as a hand reached and grabbed her arm. She turned her head over her shoulder, meeting the worried gaze of Harry. 

"Amora, what's going on?" He asked.

"Professor Trelawney's getting sacked, I think," the brunette replied, and the two wandered out into the courtyard where they found Ron and Hermione huddled together.

Sure enough, in the middle of pretty much the entire school, stood Professor Trelawney surrounded by all of her belongings, already packed into cases and trunks. She was shaking, a distraught look on her features as Filch marched over with the last of her things, dumping them on the ground in front of her. 

Umbridge appeared unphased by the attention she was receiving as she began to march down the courtyard towards Trelawney, her kitten heels clicking on the paved ground. Amora gritted her teeth, her lip curling at the sight of the horrible woman who wore a graceful smile as if she was doing nothing wrong. 

"Sixteen years I've lived and taught here," Professor Trelawney breathed shakily, holding onto her bag tight. "Hogwarts is my home. You can't do this."

Parvati and Lavender were both crying towards the side, upset to see their favourite teacher go. Even Amora felt a little emotional, a soft frown on her face as she watched Umbridge shoot the trembling woman an unforgiving smile.

"Actually, I can," Umbridge said, lifting up the Educational Decree she had demanded for.

Professor McGonagall suddenly pushed past Harry and rushed towards Trelawney, grabbing the other woman into a hug as Trelawney sobbed. McGongall smoothed down her frizzy hair whilst shooting a fierce glare at Umbridge.

"Something you'd like to say, dear?" Umbridge cocked her head to the side. 

"Oh, there are several things I would like to say," Professor McGonagall bit back before she began to try and console Trelawney again. 

Her hushed murmurs were drowned out by the large entrance doors opening behind a group of students. They parted out of the way, giving a respectable amount of room for Professor Dumbledore to come striding through. Umbridge didn't appear the slightest bit intimidated, maintaining her sweet grin and holding her chin up high. 

"Professor McGonagall, might I ask that you escort Sybill back inside?" Dumbledore said, although it came across as more of a demand. 

Trelawney was overjoyed, now crying tears of relief as McGonagall did as she was asked, helping Trelawney past. She shook Dumbledore's hand as she went, clutching her handkerchief and then blowing her nose. Amora was glad to see that she was being allowed back inside, especially because she knew how mad it would make the pink-loving witch.

"Dumbledore, may I remind you that under the terms of Educational Decree Number Twenty-Three, as enacted by the minister--"

"You have the right to dismiss my teachers," Dumbledore stated, "You do not, however, have the authority to banish them from the grounds. That power remains with the headmaster."

"For now," Umbridge simply smiled back, a long pause following.

Dumbledore turned his back, heading towards the entrance doors once more. "Don't you all have studying to do?" He boomed, causing the students to slowly start dispersing. 

"Professor!" Harry took off in his direction, leaving Amora alone.

The brunette sighed, starting to head back towards the school where it would hopefully be warmer, when Hermione grabbed her wrist. 

"Hey," she smiled, "You're still coming to the Hog's Head tomorrow, right?" 

Amora forced a smile back. "Of course, Hermione."

D.M + A.B

The last thing that Amora wanted to do when she woke up the next morning was head into Hogsmeade. It was snowing despite the fact that it was only October, and it was absolutely freezing. Amora made sure to wrap up warm, pulling on a pair of black mom jeans and a jumper. She pulled on her coat and placed a beanie on her head, also grabbing her coat and scarf. 

Kathy was whispering with Susan when she emerged from the bathroom, the two of them freezing when Amora entered the room. They acted like they had been nowhere near each other, causing Amora to scowl. She wondered what on earth they were talking about. It was probably something less than kind about her.

She left the Hufflepuff common room and was immediately bombarded by the very same second year Slytherin who had pretended to have hurt his legs at the beginning of last month. Amora was trying to recall his name as he shoved a note into her hands at the speed of lightning, practically bouncing up and down on his heels, a scared expression on his face. 

"Malfoy told me to give this to you," he squeaked.

Amora opened the folded note. 

ditch your friends at 1 and meet at the three broomsticks. the others are coming too. say you need to talk to pansy or something. 

yours, D

"Does he need a reply?" Amora asked the second year softly. 

The boy quickly shook his head. "No. Malfoy already said he knows your answer, he just said I had to make sure you definitely read it."

Amora chuckled and shook her head as the second year ran away, back towards the Slytherin dungeons. Tucking it into her pocket, Amora began to head towards the exit, ready to get marked out by Filch so she could head to Hogsmeade. Hannah jogged to catch up with her at some point, clearly feeling sorry for the girl being shunned, and offered her a small smile as they spoke about the secret meeting taking place. 

Hermione had been gathering students secretly under the teachers' noses, asking them to all meet at the Hog's Head that Saturday to come up with some sort of plan to learn Defence Against the Dark Arts properly, considering the fact that Umbridge was refusing to do any practical work. People were already sick of theory a month into the school year, and convinced they were going to fail their O.W.Ls. 

"Harry can teach us all," Hermione had whispered to Amora as she told the Hufflepuff their plan. "I've already asked a couple others, and they agreed. He's the best in our year at DADA. Probably the best in the school. He could teach us so much..."

Amora wholeheartedly agreed and promised to be there on Saturday, which she nearly regretted as the snow pelted down on her and Hannah. Once the dingy pub came into view, Hannah grabbed her wrist and the two girls raced for the door, opening it up. Inside it was even darker, rotting wood holding up the old building and cobwebs everywhere. 

"How hard would a simple cleaning spell be?" Hannah whispered under her breath, not peeling her eyes off of the bartender who was watching them both as he cleaned a glass. 

"Amora, Hannah," Hermione smiled, beckoning them over to the corner that they were all sitting in.

Amora's gaze flickered over everybody that had turned up. Younger and older year students were also there, all from either Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, or Gryffindor. She noticed that not a single Slytherin had turned up and supposed it was due to the fact that none of them knew about it. The Golden Trio clearly didn't trust them enough. Amora and Hannah moved over towards Neville and Ginny, her eyes flickering over to where Leon and Kathy were huddled together, Leon glaring at Amora. She raised her brows at him but did not retaliate. 

"Now that we've all arrived..." Hermione smiled sheepishly, standing up from where she had been sitting opposite them with Ron and Harry. "I suppose we can get started. We all know why we're here. We need a teacher-- a proper teacher. One that's had real experience defending themselves against the Dark Arts."

"Why?" Zacharias called out from towards the front. 

"Why?" Ron repeated with a scoff. "Because You-Know-Who's back, you tosspot."

Amora was glad that she wasn't the only one to despise Zacharias. It brought her some sort of small joy to see Ron glare at the blond boy for being so stupid. 

"So he says," Zacharias jerked his head in the direction of Harry who was silent. 

"So Dumbledore says," Hermione corrected. 

"So Dumbledore says because he says," Zacharias continued, "The point is, where's the proof? All Dumbledore told us last year was that Cedric Diggory got killed by You-Know-Who and that you brought Diggory's body back to Hogwarts. He didn't even give us details, he didn't tell us how Diggory got murdered, I think we'd all like to know--"

Amora's fists balled up by her sides. If this was going to be like Umbridge's first lesson, then she wanted out. She didn't want to sit in this dingy, dark pub and listen to her classmates argue whether or not her cousin had actually been murdered-- murdered by Lord Voldemort. 

"If Potter could tell us more about how Diggory got killed..." Michael Corner suggested quietly from beside Ginny and there was a long silence as everybody stared at Harry.

Amora's stomach dropped and she felt Hannah's hand slide to hold her wrist, giving it a gentle squeeze. She was sort of glad that the blonde girl had done so, because Amora thought otherwise she would have taken off out of the door and not come back. Surprisingly, her eyes remained dry-- dry as they finally made contact with Harry's, but not okay. He could see months of grief and loss and pain in them. 

"I'm not going to talk about Cedric, so if that's why you're here, you might as well clear out now," Harry ordered, sending Amora a small nod as if to ask if she was okay. "Come on, Hermione," he turned to whisper to her. "Let's go. They're just here because they think I'm some kind of freak."

He went to leave, Hermione reaching for him when Luna called out, "Is it true you can produce a Patronus Charm?"

Harry didn't reply as everybody stared at him expectantly, eager for his answer.

"Yes," Hermione replied for him, "I've seen it."

"Blimey, Harry!" Dean grinned, "I didn't know you could do that."

"A-And he killed a Basilisk, with the sword in Dumbledore's office," Neville added.

"Third year, he fought off about a hundred dementors at once!" Ron said proudly. 

Amora took a deep breath, her eyes not leaving Harry. "And last year, Harry fought You-Know-Who. A-And Cedric didn't make it, but Harry did. Harry's the only one... The best person to teach us about this," she said calmly, earning sympathetic glances from other students who had yet to hear her talk about her cousin. 

"Look, it all sounds great when you say it like that, but the truth is, most of that was just luck," Harry said, and Amora could tell that he truly believed his words. "I didn't know what I was doing half the time. I nearly always had help."

"You didn't get help with the dragon last year," Ginny pointed out fiercely. 

"And nobody helped you get rid of the Dementors this summer," Michael Corner added.

"No, I know I did it with no help, but the point I'm trying to make is--"

"Are you trying to weasel out of showing us any of this stuff?" Zacharias scowled.

"Here's an idea," Ron stated loudly, a cold expression written across his freckled face. "Why don't you shut your mouth? I don't know why you lot are mad about 'Mora punching this git when all he does is--"

"Ron!" Hermione gasped, nudging his side harshly. 

Amora's cheeks burned but Zacharias continued, "Well, we've all turned up to learn this stuff and he's telling us he can't really do any of it."

"That's not what he said," Fred snarled.

George added, "Would you like us to clean your ears out for you?" As he pulled out some sort of metal contraption from the Zonko's bag on top of his lap. 

"Or any part of your body, really, we're not fussy where we stick this," Fred shot his brows up at Zacharias, watching him squirm away. 

Had Amora ever mentioned how much she loved the Weasleys? She especially loved them now that they were embarrassing Zacharias in front of everybody. Next all she had to do was get them on Leon. It looked like they had a lot of practice at insults-- most likely from growing up with so many siblings. 

"Moving on," Hermione called abruptly, "Harry's just being modest--"

"No," Harry cut her off, "Hermione, I'm not. Facing this stuff in real life is not like school. In school, if you make a mistake, you can just try again tomorrow. But out there... When you're a second away from being murdered..." his eyes met Amora's again. "Or watching a friend die right before your eyes... You don't know what that's like."

There was a long silence as the reality of Harry's words struck home to a lot of people. He sat back down in his seat, nobody saying anything. 

"You're right, Harry, we don't," Hermione agreed after a moment or two. "That's why we need your help. Because if we're going to have any chance at beating..." She hesitated, "Voldemort."

"He's really back?" Colin Creevey whispered, earning a small nod from Harry.

"So..." Hermione said after yet another long pause. "Are we agreed that we would like to take lessons from Harry?"

The corner of the Hog's Head that the students occupied was filled with murmurs of agreement. It was then followed by a conversation in which Hermione tried to plan when they should meet around everybody's busy schedules. Angelina insisted it couldn't get in the way of Quidditch practice, and then so did Cho and Leon. 

After Katie Bell suggested the library become their meeting place for their weekly sessions, it was quickly shot down as people agreed it would be too open. They decided to think of that part later. Ginny even suggested that the called themselves 'Dumbledore's Army', seeing as it was the only thing Voldemort was scared of and a big 'fuck you' to the Ministry. 

Amora got in line with everybody else to sign her name on the sheet for Harry's brand new secret club. She felt somewhat bad that she wouldn't be able to tell Draco and her Slytherin friends about it, the thought dying as soon as Harry handed her the pencil. 

"This is a great idea, guys," Amora smiled as she began to write her name neatly beneath Fred's, who looked as though he'd done it with his eyes shut. "And thanks, by the way, Ron. For speaking up to Smith."

"He's a twat," Ron replied coldly, "And I'm starting to not like Leon too. He's a traitor not defending you--"

"Ron!" Hermione smacked him again, hissing under her breath. "Try not to insult people in the same room as you. He might hear and not sign up!"

Ron grumbled a few things under his breath as Amora grinned widely at him, giving the three of them a small wave and leaving the Hog's Head. Hannah was already walking down the road with Susan and Zena, which probably would have hurt her feelings if she didn't already have plans. Checking the watch on her wrist, her grin brightened and she took off in the direction of the Three Broomsticks.

She was just on time to meet her favourite Slytherins.

...


	51. Chapter 51

The Three Broomsticks was far warmer than the Hog's Head and a lot cleaner too. Amora plucked her gloves off of her hands as she stood in the doorway, scanning the cosy pub for the friends that she was obligated to meet and rubbing her numb hands together to gain some warmth or feeling.

Draco's platinum locks stuck out like a snowy dove trooping with crows from where he sat in a booth towards the back of the room. He was smiling faintly at something that Theo was saying, his hands resting around his Butterbeer, but, as if he felt her eyes on him, Draco lifted his head, silver eyes twinkling at the sight of her standing there.

Biting down on her bottom lip to prevent a grin taking over her face, Amora's heart fluttered when all of the Slytherins turned to look at her now, waving her over. When she was with them she forgot all about Leon and Kathy and the rest of her housemates who were defending their new Quidditch captain. Occasionally, Amora felt herself wishing she had been put in Slytherin just so she could see them more often.

"There she is," Blaise greeted, standing up so she could slide into the booth next to Pansy, opposite Draco.

She would have loved to sit next to him, but the pub was crawling with Hogwarts students-- even if they were sitting in one of the darkest corners. At least when she sat next to Pansy she could come up with some sort of excuse for being within a three foot radius of Draco Malfoy. One that didn't include being his girlfriend.

Pansy brought out her wand as Amora shrugged her coat and scarf off, tossing her beanie onto the table in front of her. She cast a quick warming charm on the brunette, causing Amora to smile. She grabbed Pansy's arm and gave her a small half-hug, making Pansy jump a little in surprise.

"You'll quickly realise we're not really huggers, Amora," Pansy said, "Although, I would have thought you'd have caught on by now, considering we've been hanging out since the school year started back up."

Amora shrugged. "I'll make you all huggers. My favourites are group hugs," she teased.

Theo's eyes widened and he feigned gagging. "No. Nope. No way."

Amora wiggled her brows. "One day, Theo."

Draco was smirking in amusement for a few moments before he slid out of the booth. "Butterbeer?" He asked Amora.

Amora would have stood up too if Blaise wasn't blocking her way out. She shook her head. "No, it's fine. I can get it."

"No," Draco said plainly, "I'm getting it for you."

The brunette girl tore her gaze away for a split second to fumble for some Galleons in her coat pocket, only to find Draco had disappeared by the time she glanced back up. Sagging back in her seat in defeat, Amora placed the coins on the table and pouted with a frown.

"Don't be stubborn, Amora," Pansy said, "It barely makes a dent in Draco's wallet. Take advantage of it. He won't pay for ours."

Amora giggled a little and shook her head. "I forget he's a Malfoy."

"How?" Blaise retorted, "It's all he goes on about."

Amora remembered thinking the same thing about Draco before they started dating; that his entire personality was built off of the fact that he was the Malfoy heir and a pureblood, but she hadn't thought of him in that way in such a long time. When Amora saw Draco, she never thought of him as Lucius Malfoy's son or some rich kid-- she just saw him. It was insanely cheesy, but true.

"What did you say to your friends to get away from them?" Theo asked as he leaned forward and took a large gulp of his own drink, leaving some froth above his lip which he wiped away with the back of his hand.

"Oh, well I didn't really need to say anything. I came here with Hannah and she went off with Zena and Susan," Amora replied, "I'm not exactly Miss Popular right now, remember? My whole house thinks I'm unstable."

"I'm sorry, but aren't Hufflepuffs supposed to be nice or whatever?" Pansy grumbled, her face scrunching up in disgust as she swirled her drink around with her straw.

"Ah, that's a common misconception," Amora smiled brightly, excited to debunk the stereotype. "Nowhere in Hufflepuff's traits is there kindness. There's loyalty, patience, justice, hard work... Kindness does seem to correlate with it, but not always. I think people think we're ditsy idiots, but take Zacharias Smith for example-- total dick. Always has been, always will be. To be fair, I thought he was the only one-- then Leon showed his true colours."

"What's the Hufflepuff common room like, then?" Blaise asked interestedly.

"Brighter than yours," Amora replied, "It's got plants everywhere, high ceilings with windows at the top so you can see people walk past on the grass. It's like all brass and golden tones, I suppose-- and all of the doors are circular. Like a real badger's home."

"I'll stick to the dark Slytherin aesthetic," Blaise muttered, "Ever been in Gryffindors or Ravenclaws?"

"Not Ravenclaw's, but I've been in Gryffindor's a bunch of times!" Amora said, "Gryffindor's kind of looks like the rest of the castle, just with red everywhere. It's quite cosy, though. They throw nice Christmas parties."

Theo snorted but tried to cover it by sipping at his Butterbeer again. Amora frowned at him.

"What's so funny?" Pansy demanded before she could.

"I'm just recalling the last Christmas party the Gryffindors had. Oh, yeah, Draco wouldn't stop going on about it..." Theo said, his eyes twinkling mischievously.

Amora frowned for a few seconds before catching on, her cheeks blazing. "I had to do it!" She hissed, "People were chanting and I wasn't just going to embarrass him."

"I'm lost," Pansy deadpanned.

"Oh, right. Amora kissed Potter under the mistletoe," Theo snickered, making Blaise crack up beside him, the two boys leaning on each other as they laughed. "D-Draco tried so hard not to look mad when he found out."

Amora's cheeks felt hot to touch as she buried her face into her hand. "Please stop."

"That's when I realised something was going on," Theo mentioned casually as he stopped laughing a few moments later.

"Really?" Blaise raised his brows. "I knew he liked her way before you then. I kept trying to get him to admit it, but he kept saying he barely knew Amora. I knew for sure after he started that fight with Potter in the hallway. So that's why I asked you to the Yule Ball."

Amora's face scrunched up. "Huh?"

"To get Draco to confess," Blaise elaborated in an obvious tone, "But he's a stubborn arsehole and asked Pansy instead. Not that it was a bad night, Buckley. You looked gorgeous." He winked at her playfully.

Amora rolled her eyes with a small smile. "And there I was thinking that you genuinely wanted to go with me," she teased.

"Well, let's just say it wasn't a burden taking you," Blaise continued, "Either my best friend was going to confess, or I was taking one of the prettiest girls in the year to the ball. Win-win in my eyes."

The brunette's ears felt like they had been set on fire too. Pansy glared at Blaise. "I know you're a naturally flirty guy, but you better shut it before Draco comes back and literally flips the table on your arse. I don't feel like drama today."

"Jealous, Pans?" Blaise smirked, "I can flirt with you, too. Even though you're a lesbian. I've been told I'm even attractive to straight guys, so that's like... a lesbian's parallel right? So the same thing technically?"

Pansy pretended to gag. "Never compare me to a straight guy again."

"Why did you go to the ball with Draco if you don't like dick, Pans?" Theo asked, who hadn't been aware of Pansy's sexuality until this school year-- boys could be oblivious, especially the Slytherin kind.

"Cover up, obviously," Pansy huffed, "My parents wanted us to end up together to benefit the Parkinson name, and I knew Draco obviously wasn't interested like that so I said yes. Then he can pretend he's not making googly eyes at our Amora here all night and I can pretend that I'm as straight as a pole."

Amora furrowed her brows. "That's quite clever. Both of you using each other as a cover up."

"Draco didn't even realise it though, his self-absorbed arse thought Pansy would actually like to go with him," Blaise snickered.

"He thought I was crushing on him for years." Pansy rolled her eyes.

Harry was still staring at Amora as he was dragged away by Hermione, just long enough to see a flash of blond approaching her. Amora's eyes nearly widened when Draco appeared in front of her, but instead of looking at her, he was glancing over his shoulder.

"Look, you're not my first choice, Buckley, but I need a partner before Parkinson realises I'm free and comes hunting for me." Draco shuddered at the thought, glancing back towards her. "All your boyfriends seem pretty occupied, so this works in both our favour, I reckon."

Amora huffed and rolled her eyes when she realised he was most likely correct. She forcefully grabbed his hand and placed the other on his shoulder, having to crane her neck up slightly to look up at him. Draco seemed surprised that she had even agreed to dance with him, let alone been the first to take action.

Amora chuckled a little at the memory. She'd worked out that Pansy only gave Draco the time of day when she had to after Pansy told her that she was gay, but Draco was clearly too oblivious to even realise. To be fair, Amora always thought Pansy had been in love with Draco, but it turned out she couldn't have been further from the truth. If anything, the other annoyed them slightly, too similar for their own good.

"Talking about me?" Draco smirked as he arrived back at the table, Amora's Butterbeer in his hand.

He slid it across the table to her, a harsh glare crossing his features when Amora moved to push her Galleons over to him. He shoved them back.

"Don't be ridiculous, Amora," he scolded before turning to his friends. "What were we talking about?"

"How you thought Pansy liked you," Theo snickered.

Draco rolled his eyes. "Yes, well. That was quite a blow to the ego when I found out the truth."

Amora giggled, her hand moving to cover her mouth slightly as she shook her head at him. Most of the time Draco was funny without even trying to be. She grabbed her Butterbeer and took a long swig, appreciating the sweet taste as it trickled down her throat. Two figures that appeared at the end of the table made her start to choke on her drink.

Pansy tore the glass away from her and Blaise smacked her back as she coughed, her eyes stinging as she glanced up at Leon and Kathy standing there. Kathy was grabbing his arm, seemingly trying to pull him away a little, but when he tugged himself away from her and shot her a small glare, Kathy gave up.

"What do you want, Holloway?" Draco sneered, before he began to grin maliciously. "Come to see how mealtime is supposed to go? You see, it's pretty simple actually, when you go to hand your friend their drink, you just don't put Veritaserum inside it--"

"Oh, shut it, Malfoy," Leon spat, "I came over to tell you that I know it was you lot that pulled that little prank on me the other day in the Great Hall."

"Well done," Blaise scowled, "What gave it away? The fact that Draco had a wand in his hand, or the fact that we were all laughing our arses off at you?"

"Ah, no, Blaise, to be fair on Holloway, everybody was laughing at him-- not just us," Theo grinned, his tongue sliding across his teeth as he made eye contact with a furious Leon.

"Leon--" Kathy hissed, trying to tug him away again, but he shrugged her off once more.

"So, what, Amora? You can't fight your own battles now? You have your new friends doing all your dirty work for you?" Leon snapped at her, making Amora raise her brows a little with a nonchalant expression written across her face.

"I had no idea, actually," she said innocently before a small smirk crossed her features. "But... I am glad I got to walk in on it before it was all over. It was quite funny, actually."

Draco's grin widened from opposite her, his eyes eventually tearing from Amora as he glanced up to Leon, brows raised and an amused expression on his face as he watched Leon's face fall before rage took over.

"Look what's happened to you, Amora! The Amora I knew--"

"Shut up, Leon," Amora hissed, now actually angry. "Shut up going on about 'the Amora you knew'. Do you know how cheesy that sounds? I'm still the same person; I've just realised that I don't need you making all my decisions for me anymore."

"So what's your point being here, then, Holloway?" Pansy said boredly, "Have you just come for a chitchat? Come to threaten us..?"

"Maybe," Leon blurted, his eyes narrowing on Amora. "Maybe some of you should watch your back."

Draco immediately stood from his seat in the booth, his figure suddenly right in Leon's face and even looming over him slightly. His pale hand was clenched around his wand, his lip curled in his signature scowl. Blaise shifted in his seat slightly, prepared to tug Draco away if things got out of hand. Amora frowned worriedly.

"If you're talking to her then I suggest you take that back," Draco seethed, taking a step forward so Leon was forced to take one backwards. "In fact, for your own safety, I would suggest that you don't even so much as look at her anymore. Don't talk to her, don't talk about her, just leave her the fuck alone. Or you'll regret it." Draco purposefully flickered his eyes over to Kathy for emphasis.

Leon moved backwards, glaring. Kathy grabbed him much more forcefully this time and Leon didn't protest, allowing himself to be pulled away. Draco took a deep breath and didn't avert his gaze until they were long gone out of the pub, their figures trudging past the window in the white snow. When he turned, he found his friends looking at him in slight surprise and amazement.

"Anyone else kind of turned on right now?" Theo asked, earning a smack from Pansy.

"Draco..." Amora began.

"Don't," Draco snapped as he slid back into the booth. "Don't tell me I shouldn't have done that or that you could have dealt with it yourself."

Amora gave a breathy laugh through her nose. "Actually, I was going to say thank you."

D.M + A.B

By the next Monday morning, Educational Decree Number Twenty-Four had been put in place. Professor Umbridge must have learnt somewhere that there had been a meeting in the Hog's Head that Saturday, because now all clubs were banned. Nothing could exist without the permission of the High Inquisitor herself, and any student who even belonged to any club of some sort was said to be expelled.

Amora could not be expelled.

With Hermione helping to lead Dumbledore's Army, Amora expected news to spread that it was over before it had even properly begun, alas, that did not happen. In fact, Neville had informed her as they walked together a couple of days later that Hermione was now even more eager to get it up and running.

"The way I see it, is I would rather be expelled than get c-caught by D-Death Eaters," Neville said to her, his voice slightly shaky at the thought as they round the corner. "But I trust Harry. And Hermione. She promised we wouldn't all get caught."

Amora hummed slightly in agreement. "So nobody's pulled out, then?"

"Not that I know of," Neville shrugged, "We just need somewhere to practice. Somewhere where nobody will catch us, especially not Umbridge."

Amora liked talking with Neville. He was her first proper friend at Hogwarts and the only person to ask if she wanted to sit with him on the train. Whilst their friendship had dimmed out a little as the years passed, there was also a mutual agreement between each other that they would always be friends. Like last year, when Neville had helped her with Herbology some nights.

"Somewhere where nobody will catch us..." Amora repeated under her breath, her brows furrowed as she thought deeply.

Suddenly, a small rumbling noise came from behind them. Neville flinched and grabbed Amora's arm, the brunette's eyes enlarging as she turned around. The two of them gaped as the centre of a large bare wall began to blacken, before spirals spread out and danced across the bricks. Amora and Neville stayed close to each other, staring up in amazement as the wall became two large doors which swung open silently.

Inside, there was a huge hall filled with mirrors and bookshelves, but most importantly lots of empty space. Neville's mouth was still open in surprise.

"What-- What is it?" Neville questioned.

Amora blinked. "Ur- Um, I'm not sure. We should get Harry."

"What if it disappears?"

"Okay, you go and get Harry, I'll wait here," Amora ordered, Neville nodding quickly and rushing off.

Amora wanted to step inside the dimly lit room, wanted to see what it was all about, but she was half-scared that if she stepped foot inside, the door would turn into a wall again and she'd never be allowed back out. She stuck by the doorway, craning her head to look inside. Squinting her brown eyes, she could just make out that the spines of the books read things like 'Understanding the Dark Arts', 'Defence Against Evil' and others like it.

"Amora," a voice called.

Amora's eyes widened and she whirled around to see Kathy heading towards her. The curly-haired blonde girl was about to speak when her eyes landed on the huge set of doors and the empty hall inside.

"I-I've never seen this place before," Kathy said.

"Well, of course you wouldn't have, because Neville and I just found it," Amora replied stubbornly, crossing her arms against her chest. "What do you want? Come to rub it in my face that everybody hates me and loves Leon now? Just so you know, he's lucky that I don't tell everyone why I punched him that night--"

"I know, I know, okay?" Kathy said desperately, "Listen, Amora, Leon's changed without you. And before you say anything, no, this isn't another one of my desperate attempts to get you to be friends with him again. He's letting the whole Captain thing go to his head, he's angry at you so he's making it sound like you punched him for no good reason. Leon's... He's just changed now, okay? Even I can't seem to get to him anymore."

Amora swallowed. "What do you expect me to do about it?"

"Nothing," Kathy said, "He's not your problem to fix. I've been thinking about it a lot though. He slipped you truth serum because he wanted the truth and didn't want to lose you, and now he's being a dick about you because he lost you and he knows he'll lose everyone else if they know the truth about what he said--"

"Leon's Boggart was being alone," Amora recalled quietly, nodding along. "Makes sense. Does make him kind of messed up in the head for it, though."

"I used to mistake it for loyalty," Kathy whispered hushly, as if she was worried he'd come round the corner. "I thought he was so dedicated to you and his house that he was willing to do anything to keep you all around, but I think at this point, Leon's just doing it for himself. He surrounds himself with people all of the time, and I don't like who he's becoming."

"Then..." Amora couldn't come up with a quick solution. "I don't know, Kathy. I don't know why you expect me to help you out with him either."

"I'm not asking for your help," Kathy repeated, "I'm asking for your forgiveness. Not for Leon this time, for me. I'm sorry I stuck to his side the entire time and let him lie about why you punched him. I'm even more sorry for the way I haven't been talking to you for the past few weeks. I've seen how lonely you look... I should have said something sooner, but he really showed his true colours to me this weekend when he threatened you. I didn't think he'd ever stoop that low."

"Kathy, you're too loyal to him," Amora said, "And I'm telling you this because you seemed happier months ago, before this school year started. You're too dependent on him and it's blinding you. You should have realised he would stoop that low when he slipped me truth serum."

"I know." Kathy's bottom lip began to tremble and her eyes filled with tears. "I know, but I don't want to leave him. I'm in love with him, Amora, and I just want to help him."

Amora felt something stir in her stomach. Perhaps it was sympathy for Kathy, because she sometimes felt the same way about Draco. She liked to think she was a bit stronger than that though-- that if Draco was dragging her down with him then she would do the right thing for herself and leave him, no matter how in love with him she was.

The short silence was cut off by footsteps rounding the corner. Amora glanced up, her eyes meeting Harry's as he marched around the corner with Neville. Hermione, Ron, Fred, and George were in tow. They stumbled to a stop by Amora and Kathy, looking into the room in amazement. A fireplace was lit up at the very end of the room, welcoming them all inside.

"What is this place?" Harry asked.

"It's the Room of Requirement," Hermione replied, shocked, "It's also known as the Come and Go room. It only appears when a person is in real need of it. And it's always equipped for the seeker's needs. Amora, Neville-- how on earth did you find it?"

Neville shook his head. "We were just talking about how we needed somewhere for the DA... and it just appeared."

"It's brilliant," Harry grinned, turning to face them both. "It's like Hogwarts wants us to fight back."

And fight back they would.

D.M + A.B

The first meeting for Dumbledore's Army was due to be held the very next day, on Wednesday. Amora arrived at eight, just in time to catch everybody else filtering into the Room of Requirement. Dean Thomas gave her a small smile as he slipped inside, immediately complimenting Harry on the room. Everybody was in amazement, most having been unaware that the room really existed before today.

Amora took a place on a cushion next to Ginny and Fred and George as Kathy strode in, Leon right by her side. She frowned slightly, part of her hoping that Kathy would have done something by now. Maybe she wouldn't do anything at all. After all, Amora had barely seen Kathy without Leon for the past year.

The meeting started with Hermione asking for everybody to vote for a leader-- and Harry was chosen, of course. She pinned the parchment with their signatures on it to the wall, 'DUMBLEDORE'S ARMY' written boldly on top. For their first lesson, Harry suggested that they focus on the Disarming Charm (which Zacharias briefly suggested would 'do no harm against Death Eaters trying to kill them'), and Amora paired up with Neville, seeing as neither of them had anybody else to go with.

Wands were being flown around everywhere all lesson, 'Expelliarmus' being yelled in different variants of the British accent, all at different volumes and pitches. Amora managed to get Neville's wand to go flying out of his hand pretty quickly, watching it fly towards the bookcases.

"Well done, Amora!" Harry grinned, using a Summoning Charm to bring Neville's wand back over. "Now you try disarming Amora, Neville."

Neville gulped as Harry grabbed his shoulders and positioned him straighter so he didn't look so timid and anxious. Amora stood still with her wand raised slightly, as if she was about to attack him, and watching as Neville called 'Expelliarmus!'

Her wand went flying left, nearly smacking one of the twins right in the face. Amora grinned at Neville as his entire face lit up and he turned to face Harry excitedly.

"I did it!" He yelled, "I did it! I've never done that one before!"

"Good one, Neville," Harry said encouragingly, "Now try and see who can disarm the other the fastest. Your enemy won't always be standing still waiting for you."

Harry moved on to watch the rest of the students, leaving Amora and Neville to practice. They didn't have long left, maybe half an hour until they all had to sneak back to their dorms, but in that time both Neville and Amora managed to improve their Disarming Charms on each other. Amora caught sight of George messing with Zacharias', muttering spells that caused the Hufflepuff boy's wand to fly out of his hand every time he went to disarm Anthony. That made her laugh a little.

By the end, they'd all agreed to meet the same time next week, and Amora felt a rush of adrenaline hit her at the thought. They could all get expelled for this. Somehow, despite how small and perhaps insignificant it was, it sort of felt like a revolution of some kind. As if they were going to take back the school from Umbridge somehow. 

They were conspiring right under her nose and the pink witch had no idea.


	52. Chapter 52

The month of October was travelling by quicker than September had. Amora punching Leon had become old news and she was receiving a lot less looks now, especially after Kathy began to make more of an attempt to include her, which meant Susan and Zena did too. She was aware of the glares she received from Leon and Zacharias, but it seemed as though they were the only ones who couldn't seem to put it past them. To be honest, Amora could see why-- they had been the ones to get punched by her. 

Since the last one, two more DA meetings had taken place. In each one, Harry taught them something new in their hour slot, right before they all had to rush back to their dorms before curfew. Amora was really enjoying the lessons; after being attacked by Barty Crouch Jr last year and her cousin being murdered by Death Eaters, she thought it was a brilliant idea to learn a few defensive spells.

It wasn't like Professor Umbridge was teaching them anything as useful. In fact, all she did was have them write out pages from their textbooks-- sometimes three times so that it was drilled into their heads. The only thing that made her lessons bearable was the fact that she was sitting next to Draco in them-- not that they could act like they even liked each other. Sometimes he'd rest his hand on her thigh beneath the table though, and that was nice. Comforting.

"Draco," Amora breathed against him as he kissed her neck, her hands flying to the back of his head where she lightly tugged at his platinum locks. "Draco, you have Quidditch practice."

He hummed against her sensitive skin, Amora's eyes nearly rolling into the back of her head. He didn't stay in the same space for long, respecting that she didn't want marks that she couldn't explain to her dormmates, and eventually forced himself to pull away from her. His minty breath fanned the area he had been pressing his lips against.

"I don't want to go to Quidditch practice," Draco said stubbornly, one large palm moving to rest on the side of her face. "I'd much rather stay here and kiss you all evening."

Amora rolled her eyes with a small smile. "It'll be worth it once you beat Gryffindor. When's the match again?"

"In a week," Draco groaned, realising that she was right. "I suppose I should get my arse down to the pitch before I'm kicked off the team, hm?"

They both knew that Draco wouldn't be kicked off the team even if he was the worst Seeker in the world. Amora was pretty sure the only way he wouldn't play for Slytherin would be if he left on his own terms, which she couldn't see him ever doing. Draco loved Quidditch and he was actually really good at it.

"What are you going to be doing?" Draco asked, brushing her hair behind her ear. "Thinking of me, hm?"

"Maybe," the brunette chuckled, "Or maybe I'll be in my dorm studying for the rest of the night."

"Sounds very exciting," Draco said sarcastically.

"Catch a Snitch or two for me, yeah?" Amora grinned, pressing a final kiss to his lips.

She waved him off down the corridor, waiting until his figure had disappeared before she took off in the opposite direction. Luckily for her, Harry was planning meetings around when Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Gryffindor had their Quidditch practices, so it was nearly almost always on a night when Slytherin had theirs, since there were no Slytherins in the DA.

Amora made it to the Room of Requirements just in time, sneaking in just after Angelina and Alicia. At arrival, Hermione had shoved a Galleon into her hand, making Amora peer down at it in confusion. She glanced up and found everybody else doing the same.

"You see the numerals around the edge of the coins?" Hermione said. "On real Galleons that's just a serial number referring to the goblin who cast the coin. On these fake coins, though, the numbers will change to reflect the time and date of the next meeting. The coins will grow hot when the date changes, so if you're carrying them in a pocket you'll be able to feel them. We take one each, and when Harry sets the date of the next meeting he'll change the numbers on his coin, and because I've put a Protean Charm on them, they'll all change to mimic his."

"Hermione..." Amora said after there was a long, astonished silence. "This is, like, N.E.W.T level stuff..."

"Oh," Hermione blushed, "Well, yes, I suppose it is..."

"How are you not in Ravenclaw, then?" Terry Boot demanded, "With a brain like yours?"

"Well, the Sorting Hat did momentarily consider it," Hermione replied brightly, "Anyway, so does that mean we're using the Galleons?"

A murmur of agreement moved through the crowd of students before Harry started up his fourth lesson. They were learning 'Stupefy' today, small duels taking place before Harry decided to set them up against partners in front of the whole class. Amora laughed when Hermione had managed to send Ron halfway across the hall, her chuckles growing even louder when she saw Angelina do the same to Fred.

"Amora and Neville?" Harry called to the pair standing beside each other.

Both looked uncertain as they stood parallel to the other, uneasy looks on their faces. "I don't want to do it..." Amora admitted.

"Yeah, I can't hurt Amora," Neville said weakly.

Harry sighed. "It won't hurt too badly, you two. It's just like being knocked over..."

Amora and Neville raised their wands halfheartedly, although neither of them moved to actually verbalise and cast the spell. Neville gulped loudly, his hand shaking a little. Amora seriously couldn't understand how Harry expected her to Stupefy him when he looked so sweet and harmless.

"Okay, maybe you two should pick new partners for this, then," Harry suggested after a moment or two. "I suppose it's highly unlikely you'll have to fight your friends anyway, so..."

"I'll go with Neville or Amora," Ron shrugged.

"I'll go with Amora," a voice called.

Kathy looked quite horrified as Leon moved to stand where Neville had been, raising his wand. Everybody else looked a little uncertain too. Nobody really knew what had actually gone down between the pair of ex-best friends apart from Kathy, but they knew this definitely wasn't some lame attempt at rekindling their old friendship.

"Amora... is that alright?" Harry asked, his green eyes piercing into hers for confirmation.

Amora nodded faintly, raising her wand. Leon already had his up. Harry did his count down, and just as she expected, Leon had gone to strike her at the very first split second-- so she was prepared.

"Stupefy!" They both yelled, Amora's landing first and sending the brunet boy hurdling backwards.

His body nearly smacked into the mossy mirrors, a small groan leaving his lips as Kathy held her hand over her mouth. He climbed back up, a small glare on his face as he locked eyes with Amora.

"Fair play," he grunted.

Amora just raised her brows coldly at him before she moved back to the sides and gave Neville's hand a small squeeze before he would go up against Ron. The rest of the lesson went by rather quickly and was filled with many laughs despite Amora and Leon's tense moment. As it was over and Harry began to pack the dummies they'd used at the beginning of the lesson away, Amora moved over to Hermione.

"That thing with the Galleon's and the Protean Charm is really clever," she beamed at the Gryffindor girl.

Hermione looked slightly flustered, blushing as she tucked an unruly lock behind her ear. "Thanks, Amora. It's nothing, really..."

"Do..." Amora hesitated nervously, "Do you think perhaps you could teach me how to do it? Or write it down for me?"

Hermione's brows furrowed a little. "How come?"

"For..." Amora hadn't expected her to ask that. "I'm just curious, is all."

"Sure," Hermione smiled, "Sometime this week, maybe? Harry and Angelina have been talking about postponing DA meetings so Gryffindor can get in daily practice for their match against Slytherin next week."

"Yeah, that sounds good," Amora beamed, "Thanks, Hermione."

Before the shorter girl could leave, Hermione reached out and gently grabbed her wrist. "Hey, Amora. I know you're friends with some of the Slytherins, like Pansy, and you can trust them, but we can't."

Amora's own brows furrowed this time. "Hm? What do you mean?"

"You have to promise you won't tell them about this," Hermione said, "Ron's been telling Harry how he's worried you'll say something to Pansy and she'll go snitching to Umbridge. Harry's been keeping him at bay, luckily, but if I have your word for it..."

"I promise," Amora said truthfully, "I promise I won't tell them."

She knew her Slytherin friends would never join the DA-- not when their parents had warned them explicitly about staying on Umbridge's good side. It wasn't that she thought they'd do it to hurt her, but she knew most likely that Draco and his friends, especially Draco, would love to get Harry in trouble. So for now, she'd keep it a secret against them.

And hopefully it wouldn't backfire.

D.M + A.B

A few days later, when Harry and Ron were preoccupied with practicing for Quidditch, Hermione invited Amora down to the library to show her how the Protean Charm worked. The two brunette girls sat side by side at one of the tables furthest away from Madam Pince, a huge book in front of them as well as sheets of parchment, ink, and their wands.

"It's not too hard, really," Hermione said, "Do you know what you'd like to put the Protean Charm on?"

Amora paused for a moment. She did know, but she didn't exactly have the objects right now. Even if she had them with her, she couldn't let Hermione know. It would be far too obvious. Even if she were to lie and say that the necklaces were for somebody else, Hermione would see hers on her in the future.

"No, not right now," Amora admitted, "I was thinking you could help me practice on something. Say..." She reached into her bag and grasped two books. "What about these?"

Hermione winced. "Maybe not your books? I think Madam Pince would throw a tantrum if she caught us doing anything but reading from one. Even if it doesn't belong to the library."

"You're right..." Amora said, digging through her bag for two other objects she didn't mind sacrificing. She produced a pair of gloves that her mother had knitted her last year.

"You'll need them, Amora..." Hermione scolded, but took them off her anyway.

"My mother can always knit me some more," Amora shrugged.

The girls spent the next fifteen minutes hanging over the gloves and Hermione's Advanced Charms book, Hermione going through everything step by step with Amora, who took notes on her parchment frantically, nodding along and asking questions whenever something confused her. Hermione replied with all of the answers somewhat impatiently, but replied nevertheless.

"Okay, now try making a tear in the left glove or something," Hermione suggested, "I have charmed the left to be the original one, so the right will mimic it."

Excitedly, Amora reached forward and grasped at a piece of loose thread hanging off of the edge of the left glove. She watched curiously as the right one began to unthread right before her eyes, Amora's mouth dropping open. Hermione smiled slightly at her expression.

"And... What if I wanted the right glove to be able to do the same?" Amora asked after a moment or two of playing around with the glove, staining it with her ink and watching it reappear on the other glove.

Hermione's brows furrowed. "Amora..." She said, "Are you, by any chance, planning on using the Porteam Charm as a form of communication?"

Amora felt her cheeks heat up. "N-No."

"Amora..." Hermione narrowed her eyes at the girl. "Please don't lie to me. Everybody else seems oblivious to it, but I struggle to believe that there really isn't anything going on with you and Malfoy."

Amora's breath hitched in her throat. "N-No, Hermione. You must be reading into it wrong, because Malfoy and I are not even friends. It must be that- that little crush you used to insist that he had on me. Not that I feel the same way, of course! Actually, I don't even think that he actually has a crush on me--"

"Amora." Hermione's hand grabbed her wrist as it waved about, cutting off her rambling. "Something has been going on with Malfoy since you were locked in the library last year, hasn't it? I refuse to believe that he turned up at the Hospital Wing for no reason at all. Or that he fought with Harry over you out of spite. And I don't believe for a minute that when you hang out with Parkinson, Zabini, and Nott that you don't talk with Malfoy too. Harry might believe it, but I certainly don't. I see the way you look at him, and I've caught him staring at you--"

"Hermione," Amora hissed, "Please, stop talking."

The curly-haired girl's eyes softened. "You can talk to me, Amora. I promise not to tell Harry and Ron."

There was a long silence. Hermione frowned down worriedly at Amora's defeated figure, watching as she inhaled shakily before turning to look up at her. Amora's brown eyes were slightly teary, confirming everything that Hermione had suspected.

"I didn't mean to..." She said weakly, "But I fell in love with him, 'Mione."

"Love?" Hermione repeated in a small gasp, her eyes widening. "Amora, are you sure?"

"A hundred percent," Amora tucked her hair behind her ears, her hands shaking slightly-- perhaps it was from the adrenaline of telling her. "I see everything in him that everybody else seems to miss. I don't see him how you do, 'Mione. Not even how his friends do. I've seen him laugh so hard that he tears up, I've seen him fumble over his words and give me gifts that are so sentimental even I couldn't have come up with them, and I've seen him get flustered and he does this thing when he's nervous where he scratches the back of his neck..."

Hermione's small scowl softened over the course of her small speech. "You have a love like our novels," Hermione whispered in slight awe.

Amora swallowed and shook her head. "He doesn't know I love him. I'm scared if he ever found out then he would freak out and leave me. He's... He's not good with his words. Not good with feeling too much. It's why it took us so long to even really get together."

"But he treats you right?" Hermione asked, grabbing both of her hands and squeezing slightly.

Amora nodded quickly. "He's never said it, but he makes me feel so loved. More loved than I have ever felt in my entire life."

"Is that why Leon..."

"Yeah," Amora said, "Part of it. He... He...." Amora hesitated before she began to tell him what had gone down on the night of Draco's birthday. How they'd spent the afternoon together before she went back to the Hufflepuff common room and was invited to drink with her housemates. How Leon tried to get her drunk to spill everything and then desperately resorted to Veritaserum the next morning at breakfast. She explained how Cedric had saved her and then how Draco had taken her in and Pansy, Theo, and Blaise had joined.

Hermione's face was red and she was scowling towards the end of it. "He deserves immediate expulsion! My, what a sorry excuse for a friend--"

"Shh." Amora pressed her finger on Hermione's lips, glancing over her shoulder. "You'll get Madam Pince on us."

The Granger girl settled down a little, but her cheeks were still crimson. "I'm not angry with you, Amora. Slightly disappointed that it had to be Malfoy of all people, but I know you can't help who you fall for. And I know you of all people wouldn't do this with malicious intent. And... so long as he is treating you right, I suppose I can support you and keep this a secret."

Amora nodded eagerly. "Yes, yes. Thank you, Hermione. Thank you so much for... for understanding."

"I don't, really," Hermione admitted, her face showing signs of obvious discomfort. "But I can try to. I will try to."

A ghost of a smile crossed Amora's features. Before she could say anything, Hermione grasped her wand again.

"Come on, then. Let me teach you how to charm it so you can... communicate with each other."

D.M + A.B

MEET ME OUTSIDE THE SLYTHERIN COMMON ROOM.

YOURS, D

"Does he make you deliver all of his notes?" Amora quirked a brow at the second year standing in front of her with a worried expression written over his face.

Malcolm Baddock, whose name came back to her when she saw him rushing towards her in the library, pursed his lips together and shrugged-- which most likely meant yes. 

"M-Malfoy says he doesn't need a note in return, so I'll just--" Before he could rush off, Amora reached out and grasped him by the shoulder of his robe. Malcolm looked up at her with wide, horrified eyes.

"Can you tell him I'm busy, actually?" Amora said, "I'll meet him tomorrow, tell him."

Malcom's eyes widened even further, if that was possible. "I- I--" He stammered, "I can't tell Malfoy that!"

Sighing, Amora ripped off a bit of parchment and scribbled her words down on it.

Can't today. Busy with homework. Talk tomorrow before breakfast?

Yours, A

Malcom grabbed the parchment as she held it out and rushed off with it, his robes flapping behind him. Amora chuckled slightly and shook her head, grasping her quill again. She peered down at her notes, underlining some of the important parts.

Duplici Exemplari. Raise wand diagonally on the first necklace. Swish upwards a few inches. Hermione said repeat incantation until the object heats. Too hot= potential explosion. SOLUTION-- DO NOT SWISH UPWARDS TOO FAR. Flick down ALL THE WAY

Amora studied her writing for a few moments, reading over them a couple of times before she brought out two separate sheets of parchment. She wanted to master it before she went to Hogsmeade and bought the necklaces she would ultimately but the Protean Charm on.

If it worked, she'd give one necklace to Draco and keep one for herself. They'd be discreet, in order to keep them on underneath clothes, and Amora would then charm them so that if they were pressed down on, they grew warm. That way, if she pressed down on her necklace, Draco's would feel a warmth on his chest and vice versa. She thought it would be a good Christmas present, and also a way of communicating to each other.

The next Hogsmeade trip was two weeks away, in the middle of November, so she had time to get the necklaces and then start working her magic on them.

Before she could raise her wand, however, somebody cleared their throat from above her. She glanced up, raising her eyebrows at Draco who had his arms folded against his chest.

"That certainly doesn't look like homework," he said, Amora quickly flipping her notes over and preventing him from looking any further.

"It's advanced stuff," Amora said, averting her gaze to his shoulder so she didn't have to make eye contact with him and his stern features. "For extra house points, and to ."

"Since when have you cared about house points?" Draco raised his brows, pulling out the chair opposite her and sliding into it.

Amora shrugged. "W-Well, I don't really... I just thought learning the harder stuff might make the simpler stuff easier... You know, for O.W.Ls at the end of the year."

Draco furrowed a brow and reached out to grab a hold of her parchment that she had flipped. He was fast, but Amora was quicker, grasping his robe-clad wrist before he could grasp it. Draco glared at her.

"What are you writing?" He demanded.

"Nothing," Amora said, releasing his arm and grabbing her work, folding it and slipping into her bag. "It's really not important."

"Right. And where were you the other evening?"

"What other evening?" Amora furrowed her brows, her palms sweating. Had he seen her leaving the Room of Requirements?

"The other night. You told me you would be studying in your room all night and I finished practice early. Yet when I ordered Pansy to go and get you, your housemates said that you'd never arrived back to your dorm," Draco scowled, "So where did you go really?"

Amora felt her cheeks grow hot. "To the library," she lied.

"I checked the library for you." Draco's lip curled.

She could feel him getting angry with her, sensing each lie that spewed from her mouth. Amora wished she could tell him everything, all about Dumbledore's Army, but nobody else could know. Harry and the others didn't trust Draco and she had to respect that if she wanted a part in their organisation. 

"I- I was at the library!" Amora panicked slightly, scared he was about to blow up on her. "And then I went to the Gryffindor common room. To study with Hermione instead. I bumped into her here. And then she told me about this advanced Charms stuff she's been doing, and that's what I'm doing right now. What I've been practicing with her for the past week."

She felt awful lying to him, especially as she watched Draco's furious expression melt away and a more curious one take place. He looked like he mostly believed her, but his brain wouldn't fully let him.

"Really?" He asked.

"Yes, Draco," Amora replied, her heart practically hammering in her chest.

"Then you must think I'm some sort of controlling arsehole right now," he muttered, rubbing his forehead. "I just... I was worried you had lied to me. I don't like it when people lie to me."

Amora's heart wouldn't give up as she swallowed and moved over to him, grabbing him and pulling him in for a hug where he was sitting in his seat. She felt his arms slide around her back and she sighed heavily, her eyes swarming with guilt.

Lying to Draco felt disgusting.


	53. Chapter 53

Finally, just over a week later, came the Gryffindor versus Slytherin game. Amora felt like she couldn't escape hearing about it whenever she was with Draco, which actually wasn't too often since he'd been practicing a lot. She was glad that after today it would finally be over. The two houses could be just as insufferable as the other, and Amora would never understand why their rivalry was taken so seriously even today. 

"Oh gosh," Amora blurted as soon as she stepped into the Great Hall for breakfast on the day of the match, spotting the Slytherin table all sporting the same badges. 

They were all crowns with 'WEASLEY IS OUR KING' written on them. Amora was sure there was some sort of cruel insult beneath the phrase, and she dreaded finding out what it meant. She was having flashbacks to when the 'POTTER STINKS' badges were going around last year, but considering just how insecure Ron could be, it made her feel almost worse. 

Amora was glad to see that only the Slytherins seemed to be adopting the badges, wearing them proudly as they chatted away and ate their breakfast. She cast her eyes over to the Gryffindor table, seeing Harry and Ron crowded by members of their Quidditch team. She thought about checking on Ron, but decided against it, drifting to her table instead. 

She grabbed her usual porridge and honey, mixing the two together and eating a few spoonfuls as her friends made bets around her. More than half believed that Gryffindor were going to beat Slytherin, but some thought Slytherin would come out on top. 

Amora wasn't sure what to believe. For the first time ever, though, she was rooting for Slytherin. She loved her friends on the Gryffindor team, she really did, but to see the happy look on Draco's face if he were to win would make Harry and Ron's grumpiness worth it. She was sure he would be ecstatic-- over the moon, even. 

Amora snuck out of the Great Hall ten minutes before breakfast was due to end. She moved to the exact corridor Draco had ordered her to go to, finding the platinum blond already leaning against a wall there. Her breath nearly hitched in her throat upon seeing him in his Quidditch uniform, his hair falling on his forehead as he frowned, clearly thinking about something. 

"Loitering in the corridors, Mr Malfoy?" Amora attempted a shrill Scottish accent that was supposed to impersonate Professor McGonagall.

She was sure she sounded nothing like the elder witch, but it made Draco jump nevertheless. His silver eyes narrowed on Amora and he took a few strides forward, his green game robes fluttering behind him a little. His hands grabbed her forearms and she was pulled into a hard kiss, which she had not been expecting. She barely had a chance to kiss back before he was pulling away, his hands still on her arms as he peered down at her. 

"Are you nervous?" She asked.

Draco's face scrunched up as if he had been personally insulted. "What? No. 'Course not. Just needed some luck from my girlfriend, that's all."

Amora's cheeks burned at her title. "You don't need my luck," she reassured him. 

"I wish you could wear my jersey," he muttered, his finger coming up to pinch at the baggy material of her jumper around her shoulder. 

"Have you not noticed?" Amora beamed excitedly. 

"What?" Draco frowned. 

"My jumper! It's silver!" She exclaimed, "I know that green would have been a bolder statement to make, but I didn't want to bait us out or anything, and also the only green clothes I have are for summer, and it looks chilly out."

Draco released a breath through his nose, a sound of amusement, his eyes squinting at her. "Have I ever told you that you're fucking adorable?"

Amora shoved him. "Stop," she said, "Do you like it, anyway?"

"I do," Draco murmured. 

He'd like to have his arms wrapped around her waist, but he was worried that somebody would come around the corner any moment-- kissing her had been a risk in itself, but that's why it had not been for half as long as he had really wanted it to last. 

Amora beamed at that, her cheeks seemingly glowing in the dimly lit corridor of the castle. She nearly went to ask him about the badges his house were wearing, to know what they were planning, but she didn't want to kill the good mood that he was in right before the match. She just really hoped that he wasn't the mastermind behind the entire operation. 

"You should head out," Amora said, her hand moving to tug at the short sleeve of his green Quidditch robes. "Green's your colour, you know?"

Draco smirked. "I know," he said and gave her a wink that had her rolling her eyes. "I'll see you out there, then?"

"I will be secretly cheering for you in my head," Amora promised him. 

Glancing over his shoulder to double check that they were alone, Draco allowed himself to smile slightly at her words and ducked down, kissing her on the lips again. She tasted like honey and the cherry lip balm that she wore, a taste that Draco had become happily familiar with. She seemed to ground him for a few moments, stopping the pregame butterflies that he hated to admit were swirling around in his stomach. 

"Good luck," Amora spoke breathlessly, despite saying he didn't need it before, and smoothed down the fabric on his shoulder before he took off in the opposite direction. 

D.M + A.B

It was cold in the stands. Amora's mother had managed to knit her a new pair of gloves last minute, the black material keeping her hands somewhat warm as she cuddled her coat closer to herself. Her long, dark hair sprawled out of the beanie that she was wearing, her skin looking pale yet rosy around her cheeks and nose. Despite the cold, there seemed to be barely any wind-- good for playing Quidditch in. 

After Angelina and Montague, captains of each team, shook each other's hands, Madam Hooch blew the whistle in her mouth and the red team and the green team were off. Amora's eyes remained glued to Draco the entire time, watching as he flew around the sides of the stadium, looking for a glint of gold in the air. 

Lee Jordan was commentating the game as usual, wrapped up warm in his Gryffindor scarf as he yelled into the microphone what was happening. Amora thought that he could be the best part of the Quidditch games sometimes-- he was terribly amusing.

"And it's Johnson, Johnson with the Quaffle, what a player that girl is, I've been saying it for years but she still won't go out with me —" 

Professor McGonagall scowled from beside him. "Jordan!" 

"Just a fun fact, Professor, adds a bit of interest — and she's ducked Warrington, she's passed Montague, she's — ouch — been hit from behind by a Bludger from Crabbe. . . . Montague catches the Quaffle, Montague heading back up the pitch and — nice Bludger there from George Weasley, that's a Bludger to the head for Montague, he drops the Quaffle, caught by Katie Bell, Katie Bell of Gryffindor reverse passes to Alicia Spinnet and Spinnet's away — dodges Warrington, avoids a Bludger — close call, Alicia — and the crowd are loving this, just listen to them, what's that they're singing?" 

Amora's eyes moved away from Draco for a few seconds, drifting over to the stands where the Slytherins were standing. Hannah was frowning from beside her too, craning her neck to hear what they were actually saying. 

"Weasley cannot save a thing,   
He cannot block a single ring,   
That's why Slytherins all sing:   
Weasley is our King. 

Weasley was born in a bin,   
He always lets the Quaffle in,  
Weasley will make sure we win,   
Weasley is our King."

"That's awful!" Hannah exclaimed, to which Amora could only nod along in agreement-- sort of in a state of shock that they would humiliate Ron like that. 

Now the badges were making sense. It seemed like the song was already getting to Ron because, despite his efforts, he couldn't stop the Quaffle heading towards him from going through the central hoop. There were boos as Lee announced that Slytherin had scored, but mighty cheers from the green and silver house. They began to sing even louder afterwards. 

Amora squinted her eyes-- feeling disappointed to see that her Slytherin friends were joining in with the chants. She didn't know what she had been suspecting; they hated the Gryffindors and didn't care about hurting Ron's feelings for a game, but it still made her stomach drop. It made them less perfect in her eyes because she knew she could defend that kind of behaviour. 

Soon, Gryffindor was losing forty-nil, until Ron finally managed to block a Quaffle and Angelina scored, making it forty-ten. She chewed on the fingers of her gloves, knowing that had they not been there it would be her nails instead. Her gaze drifted back to Draco and she saw him heading straight for something-- he must have seen the Snitch. Unfortunately, Harry had seen it too. 

"Come on," she whispered under her breath, tapping her foot impatiently as she watched Draco push to go faster. 

Harry was reaching out, Lee's commentating just a blur in Amora's ears as Draco scowled and reached out too. When Amora saw Harry's fist close around the Snitch, Draco's hands scraping at the back of his hand from where he had been less than an inch away, her heart dropped. None of the points that Slytherin had gathered before meant anything now, because Gryffindor had just gained one-hundred-and-fifty of them. 

Cheers erupted everywhere, even from the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws who had come to watch, and the Slytherins were crying out in disapproval. Amora's eyes widened as a Bludger came seemingly out of nowhere and hit Harry straight in the back, sending him down to the frozen pitch below. Luckily, he had only been about six feet in the air. 

...

Draco was practically trembling with rage as he flew down to the ground where Angelina was helping Harry up, congratulating him on catching the Snitch. He couldn't stand to look towards where all of the Hufflepuffs were sitting, not wanting to see the disappointed look on Amora's face. What would be even worse would be if he looked up and saw her cheering along with everybody else. 

His pale face was contorted into an expression of fury, his broom dragging on the ground behind him as he marched over to Harry. The sneer on his face was harsher than Harry had ever seen it before. 

"Saved Weasley's neck, haven't you?" Draco spat furiously, "I've never seen a worse Keeper... But then he was born in a bin... Did you like my lyrics, Potter?"

Harry tried to ignore him. He turned away from Draco, facing the rest of the Gryffindor team who were all cheering and celebrating, aside from Ron. Fred and George approached him, smacking their hands down on his back and grinning like madmen. 

"Amora won't be able to keep her eyes off you now you're a winner, mate," Fred grinned, squeezing Harry's shoulder.

"Yeah, maybe she'll let you reenact that mistletoe scene from last year, but minus the mistletoe and add some tongue," George chided with a smirk. 

Draco saw red. His hands shook not from the cold but from pure rage. He was a loser. Harry was the winner, and he was the loser. The thought of Amora leaving him for Harry made him feel sick. The twins' words sounded so incredibly vile to him-- the idea of his Amora kissing Harry. The fact that it had happened before only made it ten times worse. 

"We wanted to write a few more verses," Draco interrupted, silver eyes brewing a storm. "But we couldn't find rhymes for fat and ugly-- we wanted to sing about his mother, see. And we couldn't fit in useless loser either-- for his father, you know--"

He could see the way Fred and George quickly clocked on what he was talking about, or rather who he was talking about. The way Draco saw it, he was just getting even. If they wanted to talk about Amora, then he would talk about their parents. He'd make them regret it. 

"Leave it." Angelina grabbed Fred's arm. "Leave it, Fred, let him yell, he's just sore he lost, the jumped-up little —"

"But you like the Weasleys, don't you, Potter?" Draco sneered, "Spend holidays there and everything, don't you? Can't see how you stand the stink, but I suppose when you've been dragged up by Muggles even the Weasleys' hovel smells okay —"

Draco saw Harry grab onto George, but Fred was having to be held back by Angelina, Alicia and Katie. He laughed cruelly, happy to get a reaction out of them. Their freckled faces were red with rage and they looked as though they wanted to kill him. The feeling was mutual. 

...

Amora wished she could hear what they were arguing about, but from the stands nobody could make out what they were saying at all. All she knew was that Draco was doing his best to piss off the Gryffindor team, and it was working. 

Whatever he said next must have been the icing on the cake, for then Harry was releasing George and pumelling his fist into Draco's stomach. The blond was shoved to the ground, Harry's body jumping on top of him as his fist flew into Draco's face next. 

Amora nearly screamed, her loud gasp drowned out by the many around her as George joined in on Harry's attack on Draco. She could hear George swearing loudly as well as Angelina's screams. Madam Hooch was blowing the whistle but Amora could barely see what was happening, Draco's body hidden beneath Harry and George as they released all of their rage onto him. 

Amora turned away from the sight of the two of them punching every part of Draco they possibly could, her figure weaving in and out of the shocked Hufflepuffs until she could find the door to the stands. She faintly heard the fight get broken up, but she knew she had to be down there as soon as possible-- she had to make sure that he was okay. 

When Amora made it down to the pitch, she felt a hand grasp her. She turned to face Leon who had seemingly followed her down. She tugged herself harshly out of his grip, her eyes slightly teary from the panic rushing through her system and her teeth gritted furiously. 

"Get off me!" She bellowed when he touched her again. 

"Amora." He grabbed her, restraining her by her arms. "Amora, do you really think that's a good idea? To rush out there in front of everybody and help him?"

The brunette didn't reply but managed to tug herself away from him. Her chest heaved as she whirled around to face her ex-best friend, seeing him with a small frown on his face. He wasn't looking at her though; he was looking behind her. Amora whirled back around to see Harry and George marching off of the pitch and some of Draco's teammates helping him back up. 

"I don't care, he's hurt--" Amora began. 

"Yeah, and when Madam Pomfrey mutters a few spells and he's back to normal by tomorrow, he'll be pissed at you for exposing yourselves like that," Leon reminded her rather harshly. 

"Why do you care?" Amora snapped at him. "Isn't that what you want? For me and Draco to break up?"

"Kathy and I were talking and she made me realise some things. I don't--"

"I'm sorry, Leon, but I really don't care right now," Amora huffed, shoving him by the shoulder and marching away. 

She knew he was right though. Amora shouldn't just go running onto the pitch to help Draco. It wouldn't just look suspicious-- it would be confirmation. And no matter how desperately she wanted to help him right now, she knew that blowing their cover would cause an end to their relationship. Harry wouldn't be able to stand looking at her, she'd be kicked from the DA, her mother would be disgusted and his parents would force him to never even look her in the eye again. 

Footsteps came rushing down the stands and Amora realised that everybody was leaving the game now. People were talking excitedly, a group of boys even mimicking what Harry and George had done to Draco for their friend who had turned his back for a second. 

Amora felt sick, drifting through the crowds and following them back to the Hufflepuff common room. However, she kept glancing behind her, as if she would catch sight of Draco there.

She rushed to her dorm room as soon as she got there, ripping off her hat and gloves and coat. She pulled off the silver jumper she had worn and replaced it with a baggier, black one, her freezing skin starting to warm. Amora was desperate to find out if Draco was okay or not, to ask what had happened and hold him if he was in pain. 

"Amora, are you okay?" Kathy whispered to her, the first person to join her in the dorm room about fifteen minutes later of Amora pacing the room over and over again. 

Amora ran a hand over her mouth. "I need to see him, Kathy. I need to make sure he's all right."

"I'm sure he is--"

Amora shot Kathy a weak smile, not waiting to hear what she had to say before she was sneaking back out. Past all of the teenagers and preteens in the common room and out into the barrel-filled hallway. She raced past the kitchens, back up the stairs and out of the school's basement, into the entrance hall. It was quiet as she marched towards the Hospital Wing. 

The doors were open and all of the beds were empty aside from one. Draco was lying propped against a pillow, only Theo, Pansy, and Blaise at the end of his bed. Amora drifted inside, her eyes growing teary at the sight of the bruises across his pale skin. Just an hour ago he had been perfectly fine. 

Theo sighed in relief when he saw her, nudging Blaise who gave Amora a small nod. Amora wasn't paying attention to them, though. She was too focused on Draco. His silver eyes flickered over to her, watching Amora's teeth clamp down on her lips to stop herself from crying. 

"Draco, what--" Amora breathed shakily, ending up by his side. "Has Madam Pomfrey not assisted you yet?"

Draco clenched his jaw and shook his head. "Not yet," he muttered, his tone bitter. 

"He's embarrassed," Pansy said, making sure Amora didn't take offence.

"No I'm not," Draco seethed, glaring at the ebony-haired girl with so much hatred that anybody would think he wanted to personally murder her. "Just those stupid Gryffindors can't handle a bit of post-game banter, is all."

Amora noticed that his silver eyes were sporting bruises, his nose slightly crooked and blood dripping underneath onto his split lip. He adjusted himself and winced, though he straightened his face quickly after, playing it off like he had felt nothing. 

Amora reached out and grasped his hand gently, stroking her thumb over his pale skin. He felt freezing touch and her movement felt ghostly, as if she was scared to hurt him if she pressed down too hard. Despite the way his slender fingers curled slightly up into her smaller hand, Draco didn't look at her, his eyes boring into the wall opposite him. 

"We'll leave you two to it," Blaise said quietly, "We'll see you in a bit, Draco."

"Bye," Draco muttered.

Amora watched them go, a frown on her face. She turned back to look at Draco. "Are you okay?" She murmured.

"Does it look like I'm okay?" Draco said sourly, "Are the bruises on my face not self-explanatory enough? Or would you like to see the marks on my stomach too?"

"Draco," Amora croaked, "You have no idea how scary that was to watch."

His hand slid out of hers. Amora's heart broke until she heard footsteps approaching them and saw Madam Pomfrey with her wand out, a soft frown on her face. 

"Returning the favour, were you, Miss Buckley?" Madam Pomfrey smiled teasingly. 

Amora was confused for a few moments, unsure what she had meant, until she recalled the time Amora had been taken in after she was hit by the Whomping Willow and Draco had held her hand. A small blush coated her cheeks. Draco didn't even react to the fact that the woman had arrived, he barely nodded as she went through what she was going to do to him either. 

Madam Pomfrey cast multiple Episkey spells over Draco, Amora watching as the bruises on his pale skin faded. His nose snapped back into place and he winced, as well as when his lip magically mended back together. Amora didn't realise quite how badly Harry and George had gotten him until she heard small clicks as Madam Pomfrey cast the spell over his ribs. Her heart ached for him. 

Madam Pomfrey told him that it was best that he stayed in for the night, just to be safe, and told him to call her if he began to feel any other pain. Draco hummed in response as the woman left. 

"What happened?" Amora asked him quietly after a few moments.

"I provoked him, didn't I?" Draco snapped, "With the fucking Weasley song and the stuff I said after. They couldn't handle it."

Amora frowned.

"So what are you going to do?" Draco continued roughly, "Are you going to leave me for being an arsehole? Run off with Potter? He won, after all. Like he wins everything. 'Cause he's the hero, Amora. His father's not the one that was a Death Eater, you know. That's my one."

Amora's face was scrunched up in a pain of her own. She took a step back from him, wondering why he was so devastated about losing this game. Why this was bringing out insecurities that she thought they'd conquered at the start of their relationship. 

"Draco, I don't care who your father is," Amora reminded him, "Nor do I particularly care who Harry's father was. And I don't care if Slytherin lost this game, or if Gryffindor won. I couldn't care any less about that sort of stuff." 

Draco didn't reply. His jaw clenched. 

"Draco?" Amora repeated. 

He ignored her.

"Now you're being an arsehole," she snapped angrily.

When he didn't reply yet again, Amora groaned out in frustration. "What's your problem, Draco? You're acting like I'm not even here. Right now, I really don't care what happened between you, Harry, and George-- I just want to know if you're okay. You have no idea how worried I was about you or how absolutely terrifying it was that I couldn't come see you straight away. And now you're ignoring me like I don't even matter to you!"

"Amora, just go hang out with your other friends or something," Draco hissed, not looking at her. "I don't feel like this right now."

Amora's heart panged. "Are you joking with me? Draco, you just got beaten up--"

"Leave me!" Draco yelled at her, watching her flinch back. 

The brunette considered it for a moment. Not because he had told her to, but because she knew he would feel guilty if she rushed away now and he'd probably go after her. But this wasn't about her, it was about him, and no matter how scary it was, she was going to stand her ground-- just like he always told her to. 

"No!" Amora protested, "No, I can't leave you when you're like this--"

"Amora," he warned gravely.

"No, Draco!" Amora pleaded with him, his stormy eyes finally meeting hers. "I know this feels weird to you, having someone be there for you, but you have to get used to it. B-Because I'm not going anywhere."

Draco continued to glare at her, as if carefully considering his next words.

"I can't go anywhere," Amora exclaimed, her voice breaking a little, her heart pounding out of her chest-- she felt sick. "Because I love you."

Draco froze. 

"I do. I love you, Draco."


	54. Chapter 54

Pansy and Amora chose a pretty open booth at the Three Broomsticks; two butterbeers on the table in front of them and a few bags next to Pansy's body. A couple of hours of shopping had gone by and Amora already felt better in herself. Draco hadn't been on her mind much at all-- it was actually hard to think about him when Pansy was yapping away in her ear and inspecting practically every item she drifted by.

"What about him?" Pansy whispered, pointing in the direction of a few older Gryffindors who were sitting around a table enjoying their drinks and some food. "Draco hates Gryffindors. That would make him more angry than anybody else."

Amora sighed loudly and rolled her eyes. "Pans, I already told you-- I'm not looking for some rebound or to make Draco jealous. I meant it when I said I loved him; I can't imagine myself with any other guy. Not right now, anyway."

"Fine..." Pansy sighed in defeat. "What about a girl?"

"Pansy!"

"Okay, okay, I won't keep on," the ebony-haired muttered, "But I mean it, Amora. I let you be sad for a week, but now you have to start getting over him. Draco's the most stubborn person I know and, I hate to say it, but he doesn't go begging for forgiveness from anyone."

Amora remained silent, thinking deeply as she reached forward and grabbed her Butterbeer, taking a long swig of it. Her brain barely processed the sweet flavour or how Pansy was still blabbering on, she was too busy thinking about the time Draco did come begging for her forgiveness. The day he asked her to be his in the hospital wing.

The same hospital wing that he proceeded to end things at.

"Hey!" Pansy clicked her fingers in front of Amora's face. "Enough of that depressing look on your face. It's starting to make me depressed, and I don't like seeing you like this."

"Sorry..." Amora muttered, attempting to block Draco Malfoy out of her head as best as possible.

It was going fairly well, the two girls conversing about nothing and whatever, until the boy Amora was trying to forget about walked in. Blaise and Theo were right behind him, the smiles wiping off of their faces when they saw Amora and Pansy.

Draco paused in his tracks. Silver met amber for the first time in a whole week. A painful, agonising week. Amora found herself ripping her eyes away from his before he did. She couldn't stand to look him in the eye, or even look at him at all. She heard him clear his throat before he carried on walking, the three Slytherin boys finding a booth on the other side of the pub.

"Arsehole..." Pansy muttered bitterly, "I swear to Merlin, just say the word Amora and I'll hex him so hard he'll go crying to his father."

Amora's face screwed up in anger. "Do you know what the worst part is?" She spat, her hand curling around her drink so hard that her knuckles turned white. "Is that he knows that I love him. I can't pretend I don't care, because that's literally the reason why we broke up."

Pansy huffed. "Yeah. That would annoy me too. Like he has the upper hand or something."

"And- And I would have been totally okay with him not feeling the same had he just let me down easily!" Amora continued, feeling her rage grow with every word that left her lips. "But no! He had to call me an idiot and yell at me and try to force me to leave. I mean, my ego is in no way as big as his, but it really knocked me down a peg or two!"

Pansy grinned, biting down on her bottom lip and rubbing her hands together. "I love it when you get angry. Beats Sad Amora."

"Yeah, well he's pissed me off," Amora huffed, slumping back in her booth and folding her arms. "Literally that morning he was kissing me and telling me that I was adorable or whatever! If he wasn't ready to hear it, he should have just said so."

"He should have," Pansy agreed quickly, her usual mischievous glint in her eyes. "And it's his loss if he wants to act like a complete dick when his own girlfriend wants to tell him something. The coward doesn't even realise how brave you are. You have way more balls than him."

"Yeah, of course I do," Amora hummed, knitting her brows together. "You know, if I could date myself, I would. And I would be the best girlfriend ever. I'd get on so well with myself."

Pansy cackled in amusement, shaking your head. "You got some Firewhisky mixed with that Butterbeer?"

"No, but now I'm thinking of coming up with some sort of spell that will let me get with myself." 

"Let me know when you come up with it," Pansy hummed, taking a sip of her drink. "I think I might like some for myself."

"Or we should just get married," Amora suggested.

Pansy's lips quirked upwards. "So long as I get to chose our theme."

"Done," Amora agreed, "And I don't want to wear heels."

"Sorted, as log as I don't have to walk down the aisle," Pansy said, "Would our wedding be indoors or outdoors?"

"Outside," Amora said, "By the beach. I love the beach."

"I hate the beach," Pansy deadpanned. 

"Damn," Amora teased, "There goes that then."

P.P + A.B

DA meetings became a regular occurrence again after Gryffindor had played and beaten Slytherin in the Quidditch match. However, Harry didn't seem to think of it as much of a victory at all since Umbridge had banned him and the Weasley twins from Quidditch for life, going as far as to even confiscate their brooms. Amora frowned as she listened to Harry go on about how angry he was, their mutual hatred for the Minister-loving witch growing.

"Angelina's pissed at the three of us," Harry grumbled, his green eyes watching Hermione as she placed the cushions out by the bookshelves. "She says we should have waited for our own time to get back on Malfoy. Even McGonagall says we overreacted... that he was just provoking us because he lost the game."

"Well, he shouldn't have said what he did," Amora huffed out, hoping that it would be enough for them to end the conversation about Draco there. 

Harry frowned. "How do you know what he said?"

"W-Well, I don't exactly know what he said, but I know it must have been bad for you to react the way that you did," Amora excused her mistake, mentally cursing herself for slipping up. "Plus it's Malfoy. He never seems to have anything nice to say."

That was sort of a lie. He had said plenty of nice things to her in the past. Things that had made her blush, words that she swore would stick with her for the rest of her life because they had made her swoon so badly...

"Yeah," Harry muttered, "He... Said things about my mum."

Amora's heart dropped. Part of her hoped Draco had been exaggerating to get rid of her that day in the hospital wing, but he'd been dead honest. He'd mocked Harry's deceased mother to his face.

Her stomach felt like it was in knots, not just from feeling sorry for Harry, but because it was yet another thing she couldn't defend Draco from-- not that it was her job to make excuses for him. It just made her conscience feel a lot better about loving him when she did.

"I'd say that I'm sorry, but I know how annoying that gets..." Amora murmured. 

"Doesn't matter, anyway. You're not the one that should be apologising," Harry huffed, climbing to his feet when the first few members of the DA began to file through into the Room of Requirement. 

For the rest of the lesson, though, Amora felt like she should be apologising profusely to Harry. For falling in love with Draco, the same guy who mocked his dead parents and made fun of Harry's friends and the Weasleys who had willingly taken him like one of their own. 

Harry ordered everyone to go off in pairs like normal and practice all of the jinxes and hexes that they had learnt so far against each other. Spells and sparks were echoing all around Amora and Neville, filling her ears and blinding her eyes as she thought about everything that had happened in the past week and a half.

Her heart wasn't in it when she cast the jinxes against Neville and that much was evident when one of his spells sent her hurdling backwards. Groaning, Amora swore she could taste blood in the back of her throat as she stared up at the ceiling above. Within seconds, Neville was standing above her, looking panicked as he yelled for Harry. 

"I'm fine," Amora groaned, sitting up slightly and rubbing her chest as she coughed. "Just got a bit winded."

Amora felt a hand on her back and turned her head to the side, finding Harry kneeling down beside her. His brows were tugged down into a frown behind his circular glasses, his green eyes shining into hers. 

"Amora, are you doing okay?" He asked softly, "Maybe you want to sit this lesson out?"

"Yeah, maybe that's best..." Amora admitted, grabbing his arm as he helped her back to her feet, his hand rubbing her back where it had smacked harshly against the cold floor. "I've just been having... a funny week."

Harry probably thought she was weird. A few days ago he had seen her burst into tears in the middle of a corridor and now she could barely concentrate long enough to block a spell from Neville. Not that there was anything wrong with Neville, but it wasn't like he was eager to knock her down, meaning she must have been pretty out of it for it to happen.

If Amora promised herself that she would never let a boy ruin her life, then why did it feel like that was exactly what was happening? Like every single little thing she did required so much effort? To even get up and wash her hair every morning felt more painstakingly hard than usual, or even to lift her lips to a grin at her friends.

Amora left the Room of Requirement and began to head down the empty corridors, her eyes trained to her shoes. It was cold in the late November weather, causing her to hug her robes closer to her body. Her hand brushed against something metallic on her uniform and she pulled it away from her, brown eyes latching onto the golden badger pinned to her tie. 

Amora's heart stopped and without a second thought, she ripped it from her uniform and put it in her pocket, an action that would unknowingly to her have Draco's heart also freezing in his chest when he saw it the following day. 

Amora wished she had never been trapped in the library that night over a year ago.

D.M + A.B

Weeks crawled by. It was a week until school ended for Christmas and Amora was exhausted, more than ready for the break. She finished up some of her Potions essay in the library, enjoying how warm it was despite the corridors being so chilly that students often walked about constantly casting warming charms over themselves.

She felt like she could fall asleep at her desk, the scratching of her quill against parchment like a lullaby to her sleepy brain. She nearly gave in a couple of times, but the thought of being woken up by Madam Pince was enough to lurch her back to life, her brown eyes narrowing to focus on the words she was writing again.

A bag placed itself down in front of her and the chair scraped back. Amora was less than surprised to see that Pansy had joined her, but the ebony-haired girl looked nervous. That filled Amora with anxiety. Pansy never looked worried.

"What's wrong?" Amora questioned, dropping her quill and creating a quiet clattering sound that echoed in the large room.

Pansy rubbed her shoulder and avoided her eyes for a few moments. "I..." She sighed heavily, as if to release some stress from her shoulders, her entire body sagging in her chair a bit. "You know my parents threw a fit when I came out to them?"

Amora frowned and nodded. "Yes?"

"Well, I was thinking I was just going to stay at Hogwarts this Christmas," Pansy admitted, sounding less than enthusiastic. "I just need help writing a good enough letter to them. Which I-- Well, I haven't written to them all year so far."

Amora's heart thudded sympathetically. She reached across and placed her hand on top of Pansy's much paler one, giving it a small squeeze. Pansy didn't even flinch at the action- didn't tug her hand away. She'd started getting used to Amora's touch, even if it was a little bit too frequent for her liking.

Pansy often felt like things that didn't require ending in hugs alway did with Amora. Pansy finished her essay right before the deadline? Hug. They were calling it a night after spending the day together? Another hug. 

"You want me to help you with a letter?" Amora asked, shoving aside her homework that was due by the morning.

Pansy pursed her lips and nodded. "If that's okay? You've always been... better with words than me."

"Of course..." The two girls spent the next hour writing up the best excuse that they could think of as to why Pansy needed to stay at Hogwarts during the Christmas holidays. There was about a dozen balls of parchment sat to one side, some from messing up and others completely joke-letters where the two girls had gone off on tangents and insulted Pansy's parents in the most creative ways they could think of. 

When Madam Pince hushed them with one of the fiercest glares that Amora had ever seen, the pair got on with the letter. Amora watched Pansy sign off their work with a small smile. 

"Yay!" Amora beamed, "That's done, then. All you have to do now is take it to the Owlery."

"Yep," Pansy sighed. 

Amora's grin faltered. "What's wrong?"

"Well, I just... Have never spent Christmas without them," Pansy admitted, "It's going to be strange. But I'd rather be here by myself than in that vile house with them."

Amora looked lost in thought for a few moments. "Why don't I stay with you?" She suggested.

"No way!" Pansy shook her head quickly. "You've been way too excited to get away from this place for the past few weeks. You need to get home and clear your head, babe."

"I don't think I'd be able to clear my head knowing you were here spending your Christmas alone," Amora admitted, "And it would be cool, anyway! I get to spend Christmas with my best friend."

Pansy grinned. "It still throws me off when you call me your best friend."

"Well you are my best friend," Amora shrugged, "And a total upgrade from Leon, if you ask me."

Pansy flipped her hair mockingly. "Oh, I know. And you could ask anyone, actually."

The next day, Amora found her mother in her usual Muggle Studies classroom and, rather nervously, told her about her plan to stay back at Hogwarts for Christmas with Pansy Parkinson. To say her mother was shocked would be an understatement, but after a bit of convincing and a flash of her brown puppy dog eyes, her mother was putty in her hands.

"I have so many more Christmas' to spend with you and dad," Amora exclaimed, "But right now Pansy is having a rough patch with her parents, and she doesn't really have any family to spend her Christmas with-- I have to be here for her."

If anything, Professor Buckley had been more happy that Amora was such a loyal friend than sad that they wouldn't be spending Christmas together. So, Amora set off and signed her name to say that she was staying at school for Christmas, as did Pansy after they went together to send her letter. 

Amora spent the rest of her week trying to get on with school work and ignoring the voice in her head that kept telling her to go and seek out Draco. Pansy said that if he wanted to find her, he would, so she just had to stay put until then. But the longer time dragged on, the more painful it hurt. And the more Amora began to think that maybe that really was it for them. 

It came to her attention that perhaps Draco had never been looking for someone to fall in love with. Perhaps he had cared for her and liked her, but always knew that that was all it would be— nothing any deeper than that. Nothing as serious as love. After all, they were still just teenagers. 

She began to think maybe she had overreacted. Amora didn't like to think about their last argument, his words cutting deep every single time. No. No, I don't love you. 

That would hurt anyone to hear. 

But it wasn't exactly his fault that he didn't love her back-- and he acted badly because he had clearly been startled. She shouldn't have sprung it upon him like that. Amora knew he was scared of feelings and she told him in the middle of a heated conversation, like some sort of last resort to get him to see her point of view. 

At the same time, he'd said some nasty things that still couldn't be justified. He'd hurt her and made her feel insecure and worthless, and he'd been avoiding her ever since. 

For over a month. 

Amora moved through the doors and into the Great Hall. Tonight was the last meeting of the term for Dumbledore's Army, and then there was only a couple of days left before Christmas started. None of the other Hufflepuffs in her year were staying at school, so she'd have the whole dormitory to herself. 

The twelve huge Christmas trees decorated the hall like they had been all month, as well as Hogwarts' usual Christmas decorations. Amora would know— she'd been on the prefect team helping everybody prepare before the first of December struck the school. It had been a lot of taking up jobs that were furthest away from whatever Draco was doing, which wasn't a lot. He seemed to think he was too good to help them with such tasks. 

"Amora." Harry waved her over. 

His voice had carried above the excited chatter of the hall and gained the attention of some members of the Slytherin table behind him. Amora caught Draco sending a fierce glare at the back of Harry's head, before his eyes drifted over to her. It sort of filled her with a sick rush of power to know that it would piss him off if she sat with the Gryffindors, particularly his enemy.

The brunette stared back at him for less than a second before hurrying towards Harry who was sitting with Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville and even Luna, who was a Ravenclaw. She settled down beside the younger girl and Harry, giving Luna a smile. 

"Hello, everyone," she breathed. 

"Hello, Amora," Luna chirped back, not afraid to look her in the eyes despite them being inches apart. "I must ask if you are doing okay? You have been giving off the most awful energy recently... very negative. Not good for you or anyone else."

Hermione sent Luna a glare. "You don't say things like that, Luna!" She hissed. 

Hermione and Luna seemed to clash quite a bit due to their differing personalities and beliefs. Whilst Hermione believed in facts (which meant hard proof and no emotions attached), Luna was quite the opposite.

"Sorry. Didn't mean to offend," Luna said. 

"No, no. It's fine," Amora promised with a small smile. "Just been stressing about exams being right around the corner. That's all."

"I can help you with Herbology if you want, Amora," Neville offered eagerly. 

"Right around the corner?" Ron scoffed, "They're not until summer term, Amora."

Ginny rolled her eyes. "With an attitude like that, we can only hope you get more O.W.Ls than Fred and George."

"Amora's concerns are perfectly rational, Ronald," Hermione huffed, "Between all of our subjects, we have five years of content to revise. Six months is not long at all."

"I'll just wing it..." the red-haired boy grumbled, earning a small smile from Harry. 

"Excited for DA tonight?" Amora whispered in his ear, smiling mischievously. 

Harry chuckled and held her arm briefly to pull her closer so he could whisper back. "I'm thinking we start Patronuses after Christmas. Just some duelling tonight, maybe."

Amora nodded as she pulled away. "Sounds good."

A small crash came from the Slytherin table and suddenly Draco was flying out of his seat, storming out of the Great Hall with his robes flying behind him. Everybody frowned at his dramatic exit and Amora felt her heart sink, wondering what had happened. 

"What got his knickers in a twist?" Ron raised his brows. 

Hermione sent a look to Amora, but the Hufflepuff ignored her gaze. 

"Probably on his way to cry about losing the match last month," Ginny snickered. 

It earned a small chuckle from Harry and Ron, but there was a sinking feeling in Amora's stomach and she hated herself for it. Hermione wouldn't stop staring at her either, making it ten times worse. 

"Actually, he's probably jealous of Harry and Amora," Luna said in her usual dreamy tone as she pushed about some peas on her plate. "I have seen the way he stares. He looks quite sad these days." 

Hermione scowled. "Luna, would you please stop?" 

Amora swallowed thickly. "Malfoy does not like me. Trust me."

Before the tears could burn in her eyes, Amora swung her legs over the bench and shot her friends a small smile. 

"I'm going to head to my dorm and get a little rest before the meeting tonight," she murmured quietly. 

Harry nodded. "S-Sure. See you there."


	55. Chapter 55

Amora was glad to escape the Great Hall because only seconds later could she hear Ron reenacting the way that Draco had cried out whilst being punched over and over by George and Harry. She may not like Draco right now, but she was still, unfortunately, in love with him, so it still made her stomach turn and her cheeks heat up.

Breathing out through her nose, Amora entered the entrance hall and paused, closing her eyes. Life seemed to be moving so rapidly and in unexpected directions right now, and all Amora wanted was for it to slow down. 

She didn't think she was the type of person who needed control over every single aspect of her life, always thinking that fate would find a way to make things better, but things were getting ridiculous. If Amora could, she would snap her fingers and fix everything that seemed to have broken in the past few months, starting with Cedric.

Cedric would have told her exactly what to do in this type of situation, she knew it. Or maybe rather than advice he would have just hugged her close and told her things would work out in the end. She could really do with that right now, but Pansy wasn't much of a hugger, nor was she an optimist. As far as Pansy was concerned, Draco could go fuck himself whilst Amora moved on. But she didn't really want to move on, she just wanted to be with Draco.

"Don't tell me you're sick of Potter already?" A sneering voice came from the side of her.

Everything inside her hummed at the sound of Draco's voice, even if she knew whatever he was about to say wasn't going to be very kind at all. It was written all over his face as she turned to look at him, his pointy features sharper than usual and his lip curled as if she had gone back to being one of his enemies. Maybe she had gone back to being an enemy of his.

Feeling sensitive, Amora could only stare back for a few seconds. "Is that really the first thing you're going to say to me after ignoring me for a month and a half?" She said, attempting to keep her tone as cool as possible.

"Why?" Draco huffed, "What else could I have possibly had to say to you?"

Amora's heart shattered even more than it already was. Was he seriously referencing the way that he didn't love her back? She knew he was cruel and could say the most heartless things, but she hadn't been at the end of one of his jokes in what must have been nearly a year now.

"Besides, it looks like you're doing just fine-- cosying up to Potter at any chance you can get," Draco continued, his expression hard and ruthless. "It's what you always do when things don't go your way, isn't it? Like after I kissed you on the Astronomy Tower last Christmas Eve, and then you went running to him just the next day."

Amora began to scowl, her brows knitting together angrily and her fists clenching by her sides. "Jealous, Malfoy?"

Draco's brows shot up. "So it's true, then? You are whoring yourself off with Potter--"

"Don't you dare!" Amora seethed, cutting him off. "You are the biggest fucking arsehole I have ever met, Draco. You can't belittle me like that and then ignore me for a month and a half just to come back and tell me I'm some sort of whore for hanging around Harry. We are not together anymore; I can hang out with whoever I want, whenever I want."

His expression didn't change. "Hanging around? Ah, I see-- so Potter is too much of a coward to make a move."

Amora wasn't sure why she said the next part, probably because her words hadn't made Draco's face shift yet and he still looked cocky and unfazed.

"Actually, he's in Gryffindor for a reason, Malfoy," Amora spat, watching as his face faltered in the realisation of her words.

His lip uncurled, mouth falling open ever so slightly as he stared at her in disbelief. Draco caught himself rather quickly, scrunching his nose as he scowled down at the shorter girl. Amora couldn't lie, she was satisfied with the way she had momentarily watched his face drop because he thought her and Harry had been getting together. It was a sick rush of power that actually seemed to warm her heart for the first time in a while.

"Liar," Draco hissed, "You forget that I'm the one that taught you how to lie. I see straight through you."

"Oh, no, Malfoy," Amora smirked, watching as his fists clenched and his eyes darkened. "Harry's actually rather... attentive, if you know what I mean. He's a fast learner, too... But then, he always has been, hasn't he? Seeker in first year... Top of Defence Against the Dark Arts in no time... He really has got it all."

Draco's jaw clenched-- he didn't say anything for a few moments. "But you love me. You told me so. Not Potter. Go ahead, though. Tell me how he has everything, whilst I know you're in love with me..."

It was that upper hand that Pansy had been talking about. The one where Draco knew she loved him, so he knew she was hurting. It made her want to reach up and smack the growing smirk off of his pretentious face. 

"How long ago did I say that?" Amora said, her heart pounding in her chest, her voice straining to keep even. "What? A month and a half ago, I reckon? I'd say feelings can change in that amount of time, don't you?"

"Is that why I've barely seen you smile in that amount of time? Or why you rarely come down to the Great Hall, never participate in class or dare to look me in the eye?" Draco growled.

"Been stalking me, have you?" Amora sneered back, but if anything, his words told her that he really didn't care because he had noticed and still failed to approach her.

Draco had no time to reply before Pansy shrieked Amora's name. "What is going on here?" She demanded. "Are you two back together?"

Draco's face remained neutral. "No," he said, and then walked away.

Amora resisted the urge to grab her wand out her robe and hex him from behind. She was pretty sure she had done the most damage there, and she had got the final word, but it pissed her off to no end that he was acting like this-- that he had started some sort of unnecessary war between the two of them.

Pansy sent Amora an unsure look. "What did he say to you?"

"Never mind what he said to me, it's what I said to him," Amora huffed, "I lied to his face, Pans! I told him that Harry and I were messing about, snogging and that. Just to piss him off."

"Did it work?" Pansy asked curiously, raising her hands in defence when Amora glared. "Okay, okay. Well, I think good on you, honestly. He deserves to suffer like you have been doing."

"Pansy, I should have not lied. I went way too far--"

"Oh, Merlin, Amora! Draco's being a prick. If that doesn't speed up his apology, then I don't know what else could," Pansy said, "Draco hates to share-- even if you're not really together anymore, we all know you're still his--"

"Am not!" Amora growled, "I am nobody's--"

"Metaphorically speaking," Pansy rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on, Amora. It's obvious you're still in love with him, and it's obvious that he feels the same."

"He does not feel the same," Amora said bitterly, "He told me so himself."

"Well, of course he would say that, wouldn't he?" Pansy huffed, "He's Draco Malfoy-- do you not remember how he used to act like even more of a dick than usual when he realised he liked you? Your love confession must have been like that but ten times worse for him. He loves you, Amora. I'm sure of it. I've never seen Draco like it before, but of course that doesn't excuse his actions. The little pussy can--"

"Okay, okay," Amora blushed, shoving the Slytherin girl's arm lightly. "You think he loves me, he told me he doesn't. See my problem?"

"Yeah, you're both oblivious little bitches who are about to be the fucking death of me if you don't get back together soon--"

"You literally said yesterday that I need to move on because he's a piece of shit," Amora reminded Pansy pointedly.

"Yeah, and I meant it," Pansy chirped, "I'm conflicted with him. Two sides to him-- he doesn't deserve you, but he's better with you. It's confusing, I'm aware, I hate him, but I don't. Point is, you don't need him, Amora, but if you want him, then I'm going to help you."

Amora furrowed her brows. "Yeah, you lost me about halfway through that."

Pansy sighed loudly. "Yeah, lost myself a bit too. Whatever. Wanna hang out at the library in a bit? Like, an hour?"

"I can't," Amora apologised, before starting on yet another lie for the evening. "I have to meet my mum. She wants to spend some time with me before Christmas."

"Ugh," the ebony-haired girl groaned. "Fine. I'll see you tomorrow, then. Bright and early."

"I don't know about the bright and early part, but I'll see you tomorrow, Pans."

D.M + A.B

Draco closed his eyes. All he could see was Amora. Not the backs of his eyelids, not the light dancing behind them, or some sort of black abyss-- but Amora Buckley. He had become used to it by now, seeing her shy smile every time he lay down or hearing her laugh instead of the other boys' as they joked around in the dorm. As he slipped asleep, he swore he could feel her gentle breath on his neck, her arms wrapped around him as he held her close.

But now his vision had been slightly altered. No, Amora wasn't alone. She wasn't looking him in the eyes and laughing at something he had said. Instead, she was wrapped up in Harry Potter's arms, peering nervously into his eyes before capturing his lips against hers. Now he could see Harry's smug smirk as they pulled apart, looking over at him.

They deserved each other. Draco was aware that Harry had always been the more deserving of the two when it came to Amora, not that he particularly cared about that. He'd always thought that maybe if he hadn't been in the picture, that Amora would have ended up falling for Harry. Now, apparently, she had.

Draco slammed his book down onto his lap, seething with fury as the lines became squiggled. The main character's name 'Harris' was just blending to 'Harry', and it was starting to piss him off like nothing else. Potter was everywhere.

"She was probably bluffing, mate." Blaise rolled his eyes at his friend's dramatics from where they all sat down in the Slytherin common room, about an hour after Draco's conversation with Amora.

"Even if she is though, you gotta let it go," Theo shrugged, not looking up from his book. "I mean, you're the one that ruined the relationship since you won't fess up."

"I have nothing to fess up about," Draco growled.

"Oh, come on!" Blaise huffed, flinging his head back to hit the back of the couch. "Seriously, Draco. Anything but that bullshit, please. You can say that you weren't looking for love as much as you want, but we all know you rejected her because you were sca--"

"Don't finish that sentence," Draco interrupted harshly.

"Because you were scared," a female voice came from behind them, causing them to turn and face Pansy. "It's so obvious to everybody. But you did a good job at hiding it from Amora. Making her believe you could never love her back by making her too insecure to believe it was a really smart tactic to stop her from fighting for you."

Draco scowled. "Piss off, Parkinson."

"Hey, Pansy," Theo chirped, "Long time no see."

"Yeah, 'cause I'd rather hang around Amora than this arsehole any day," Pansy huffed.

"Why aren't you with her now then?" Draco rolled his silver eyes, grabbing his book again and pretending to have better things to do than converse with her.

"'Cause Amora's spending time with her mother before Christmas," Pansy said, "But trust me, after that we'll be spending the next three weeks with each other."

"Draco's jealous--" Blaise's joke was cut off by a harsh glare from the blond.

"How nice," Draco smiled sarcastically, "I'm really glad the two of you were able to hit it off so well. Tell her that she can go suck a dick for me, yeah?"

Theo's nose crinkled up in disgust.

Pansy grinned. "Oh, sure. But she probably already is. You know, her being with Potter and all..."

Draco's body tore from the couch, diving towards Pansy. Hands grabbed at his body before he could reach her, not that the ebony-haired girl moved an inch or even flinch. Pansy remained smirking at him, causing his blood to boil even further. Theo and Blaise managed to shove him back.

"Draco, you can't fucking touch a girl!" Blaise hissed.

"Pansy Parkinson is not a girl, she's the spawn of satan!" Draco spat, although he knew Blaise was right-- he wouldn't have touched Pansy if he'd gotten close enough to, but he hadn't been thinking straight. The image that she had put in his head made him feel sick.

"Don't I know it," Pansy chided, "Anyway, I'll leave you boys down here to get on with your little broken hearts club or whatever. I'm off to bed."

Draco watched as Pansy headed towards the girls' dormitories, his chest still heaving with rage. Only then did Blaise release his grip on Draco's arm. He tugged it away for extra measure, adjusting his robes as if Blaise would have creased them.

"Potter," Draco spat, "Buckley's smart, I'll give her that. Getting with the one person I hate the most to piss me off. I'll admit it will be entertaining to watch him mope about once he finds out that she doesn't really like him at all!"

Blaise and Theo exchanged looks. "Calm down, mate..." Theo muttered.

Draco didn't listen. He stood there, his jaw clenched, his brain ticking. Amora had no enemies that he could use to get his sweet revenge, unless he fancied snogging Crabbe or Goyle-- although he was sure that would only be comedic, and he would definitely be the one who ended up on the worst end.

His eyes darted around the common room and landed on Daphne Greengrass. She was tall, pale, blonde, had blue eyes... She was pretty much Amora's exact opposite. Not to mention, Draco was aware of the little crush that Daphne and her younger sister, Astoria, seemed to have on him. He'd always brushed them off though, not interested, but he supposed now was his chance to use Daphne's emotions to his advantage.

It took a great deal of mental pep talk to call Daphne over. Not because he was shy or scared, but because Draco didn't let just anyone touch him. He rarely allowed for Blaise and Theo to be too close to him. Only recently since being around Amora (who he had warmed up to exceptionally quickly) did he let them.

He remembered how hesitant he'd been to let Amora get close to him at first. He'd kiss her, but as soon as she'd play with the rings around his fingers or go to brush his hair when they weren't snogging, he'd tug himself away. Hugging also didn't come naturally to him, not until she taught him how good it could be when it was with her. 

Again, Blaise and Theo shared unsure glances as they watched Daphne prance over, a smile on her face. "Yes, Malfoy?"

"Would you like to take a walk with me?"

D.M + A.B

"Amora, we're going to be late for the DA meeting."

The brunette was harshly ripped away from the fictional universe in her book and plunged into reality. It felt like she had been eating with Harry and the others only two minutes ago, but three hours must have gone by. She realised she was further along in her book than she thought and folded the corner of the page, tucking it away on her bedside table.

Hannah was waiting for her by the door, shooting her an expectant look when they made eye contact. Huffing, Amora rose from the bed and smoothed down her school skirt, hoping the material wasn't too crumpled from sitting in her bed. She knew her mother would scold her for it if she saw-- she was constantly using ironing charms on her school skirts when she was younger and a lot clumsier.

"Wait up," Amora grunted as she squeezed on her school shoes and took off after Hannah.

The blonde and the brunette headed out of the Hufflepuff common room, making sure to smile politely at those who greeted them and drifted into the hallway. Up the stairs and into the entrance hall they went, excited to make it to the Room of Requirement for their last lesson before Christmas.

Dumbledore's Army meetings had become one of the only things that Amora looked forward to for the past month or so. She lived for the thrill she got from mastering a new defensive spell that Harry had taught them, and the adrenaline of sneaking around beneath the noses of Professor Umbridge and Filch was similar to the same adrenaline she used to receive when he first started sneaking around with Draco.

A familiar flash of blond hair danced in the corner of Amora's vision and she very nearly flinched. She couldn't help but turn to look at Draco, who was standing outside the library-- but he wasn't alone. A girl- Daphne Greengrass- Amora realised, was standing beside him, leaning against the wall and smiling up at him as if he was some sort of god created to be admired. Amora felt jealousy and anger pool in her stomach-- a feeling she wasn't too familiar with.

Draco's eyes drifted to Amora, as if he could feel her stare on him, and he then smirked. He reached forward and grasped Daphne's jaw, tugging her in so that their lips met. Amora's breath hitched in her throat, her entire heart smashing at the sight of the blonde girl kissing back eagerly, her hands sliding into his hair.

He'd done it on purpose. He'd kissed Daphne in front of her on purpose.

Amora felt sick. Tears burned in her eyes and she considered running back to her dormitory, but anger was quick to wash over her when she realised what it meant. He was trying to hurt her now. As if hurting her feelings when she proclaimed her love for him wasn't enough, now he was kissing other girls in front of him.

You deserve it. You lied to him about being with Harry.

"Oh, yuck," Hannah grimaced when she noticed the sight to the left of them. "You'd think they'd just do that stuff in the Slytherin common room, wouldn't you?"

"Yeah," Amora burnt holes into the back of Draco's head as she agreed. "You would think that, wouldn't you?"

Hannah was oblivious to her furious tone and didn't notice the way that Amora's skin had paled. She followed Hannah, making a point of not even looking at them anymore. If Draco thought she cared, she would at least try and show that she didn't.

Even when her heart felt like it was crumbling.

"Wait." Amora grabbed Hannah's wrist. "I need to use the bathroom. I'll be there in a few minutes."

She was sure if she didn't take a breather alone then she would end up breaking down in front of the entirety of the DA. 

Hannah nodded. "Okay, hurry."

Amora moved into the nearest bathroom, her lips trembling slightly as she moved over to the mirror. Amora's hands gripped the sink and she took a deep breath, closing her eyes. Another deep breath, and another... Amora could feel herself growing calmer and calmer as the seconds past, but her heart still felt heavy.

That could have been her kissing Draco.

Also... Daphne Greengrass? Had this been going on for a while? Maybe since the moment that they had broken up? Amora thought Pansy would have definitely told her if it had been going on before, but she'd heard nothing of it-- she'd never even seen Draco and Daphne alone together until today. He'd never mentioned her to Amora once.

Amora took a final deep breath and looked herself in the eye through the mirror. "Fuck Draco Malfoy," she whispered, gripping the porcelain basin so tight her knuckles grew white. "You are so much fucking better than him."

Amora blinked, her eyes drying. She sent herself a smile through the mirror and then lifted her chin high, leaving the bathroom. Her body nearly collided with someone else's as soon as she left, her confident stature nearly faltering.

"Excuse me, Malfoy," Amora forced him a sickly sweet smile and went to dodge past him, only for Draco to move in front of her.

"Run away to go cry by yourself, did you?" Draco sneered, "Perhaps Potter can help you dry your tears next time."

"I'm not going to lie to you, Malfoy," Amora glared, "But I have far better things to do nowadays than cry over you. So you can go back to Greengrass and stop worrying about me."

Draco looked taken aback for a moment. He clearly had not expected her to be so angry. He'd probably expected for her to cry, or to see tear stains on her cheeks, but Amora wouldn't give him the satisfaction. She hated him so much right now, and she even hated herself for still loving him. Even when he was treating her like shit.

Amora knew he was probably just trying to make the playing grounds even. She'd bragged about kissing Harry, so he'd tried one up her by actually kissing another girl in front of her. It had worked-- he'd hurt her. But she wouldn't let him know that.

"Well?" Amora huffed. "Are you going to move out of my way or will I have to make you?"

He looked like he didn't even recognise her as he moved out of the way. "Rushing off to Potter?"

"Merlin, Malfoy. What's your obsession with Harry?" Amora scoffed, "If you love him that much, you should just say so."

"Shut the fuck up," Draco growled, "You're not even funny."

Amora felt sick staring into the same silver eyes that had been gazing into hers lovingly merely a month and a half ago. She wished he wasn't looking at her like he wanted to put her six feet under right now. Nevertheless, Amora's stoic expression remained.

"So defensive..." She muttered as she began to walk away.

She was glad that Draco didn't follow her. Amora moved up the stairs, her heart pounding with adrenalin. When she blinked, she felt like she could still see Draco and Daphne snogging in her brain. The way his pale hand had gripped her jaw, hers in his hair. She bit down on her lip hard, not releasing it until she made it to the Room of Requirement, finding that she was one of the last ones in the room.

"Okay," Harry said, rubbing his hands together as everybody finished piling into the room. "I thought this evening we should just go over the things we've done so far, because it's the last meeting before the holidays and there's no point starting anything new right before a three week break--"

"We're not learning anything new?" Zacharias huffed, "If I'd known, I wouldn't have come."

Before Amora could open her mouth, Fred did. "We're all really sorry Harry didn't tell you, then."

His loud reply caused several people to laugh and even managed to draw a small smile out of Amora. She didn't miss the way that Zacharias glared over at her, even though she hadn't been the one to say it. She supposed that he was actually a bit scared of the twins and the threats they seemed to make to him at every DA meeting.

"We can practice in pairs," Harry continued, his eyes flickering away from where he'd been watching Amora smile. "We'll start with the Impediment Jinx, then we can get out the cushions and try Stunning again."

Everybody divided into their pairs, Amora going off with Neville as always. Turquoise sparks shot around the room following the yells of 'Impedimenta', Harry weaving in and out of everybody to watch and make some pointers. Amora practised on Neville a couple of times, watching as he froze in place for a few seconds before coming back to life, and he did the same to her.

Neville had improved so much since the start of the DA meetings two months ago. At the beginning, Amora believed that it had been a lack of nerves and also down to the fact that he really didn't want to hurt Amora, but he was growing more confident, allowing Amora to take on an actual challenge.

Rage still made her stomach turn and her heart pound as she fought against Neville, yet she strained to keep her magic from acting out and seriously harming him. She refused to take her anger out on anybody but Draco-- who deserved every single insult that filtered through her brain.

After ten minutes or so, Harry brought out the cushions like he said he would and they began doing the Stunning Jinxes too. When it got around to Neville and Amora, the brunette had managed to stun him so he landed on the cushions safely, however, Neville had accidentally stunned Dean instead of her, causing a small uproar of laughter. Other than the slight clumsiness though, everybody could tell that Neville really had improved a great deal-- just like everybody else in the room.

Once the hour was up, Harry called for everybody to stop what they were doing. "You're getting really good," he beamed at all of them, "When we get back from the holidays we can start doing some of the big stuff-- maybe even Patronuses."

There was a murmur of excitement among all of the classmates before people began to leave, wishing Harry a Merry Christmas as they went by. Amora stayed behind like she normally did, helping Harry, Hermione, and Ron pack up. Quickly, however, she realised as she turned around from putting some cushions back, that Hermione and Ron had gone back to their dorms.

Harry moved towards her. "You don't always have to help pack away, you know."

Amora rolled her eyes and shoved a cushion into his chest that he put away. "It's the least I could do. You give up an hour every week teaching us this stuff... I don't think you realise how grateful some of us are. Ignore Zacharias, though-- he hates everything."

Harry laughed. "I've noticed."

Amora pursed her lips into a smile as she finished with the last cushion, standing up straight, her eye catching a picture of Cedric on one of the mirrors. Cho had put it there towards the start of the year, alongside articles that the Daily Prophet had written slandering Dumbledore, all as motivation to do well-- to try as hard as they possibly could and avenge Amora's cousin.

"It will be my first Christmas without him," Amora mentioned solemnly as the smile drifted from her face. "Or any of my family, actually. I've decided to stay at Hogwarts this year, for Pansy. I think deep down though... maybe I just wanted to avoid seeing the empty chair at the table."

Harry looked like he didn't know what to say for a few moments. "I- He- Cedric would be proud of you, you know," he murmured, "I see you duelling Neville and you're amazing, just as good of a witch as he was a wizard."

Amora smiled bashfully. "I don't know about that... But thank you, Harry. You have a good Christmas, yeah?"

Before she could walk away, Harry gently grabbed her wrist. "Amora, are you okay? You've seemed quite out of it for the past month or so. I've been really worried about you."

Images of Draco's furious face filtered through her brain. His voice spitting angry words at her, the emptiness she'd been experiencing ever since, as well as the cold shoulder she'd earned. Him kissing Daphne Greengrass just like he had kissed her. But they had been able to kiss in public, unlike him and Amora. And then, no. No, I don't love you.

Amora forced a wavering smile at Harry. "Just Christmas coming up, Cedric's been on my mind more than usual, I guess..."

It wasn't a total lie, but also not the reason she'd been moping about a bit. She wished she could just forget about Draco, but it seemed like it was impossible at this point. He was in nearly every class that she had, down every corner of her mind she searched.

"I understand," Harry mumbled, "If you ever want to talk about it... Well, you know where to find me."

This time, Amora's smile was slightly more genuine. "Thanks, Harry," she whispered, reaching forward and pulling him into a hug.

Harry felt familiar, his arms wrapping around her waist and bringing her closer as she moved her arms behind his neck. They stayed like it for a few seconds, the Room of Requirement feeling less empty now that they were touching. It felt nice to be held by him because Amora knew that, unlike Draco, Harry was safe. She'd always said that about him-- that he was comfortable, predictable... that she knew he would never hurt her, at least not on purpose.

As they began to pull away, their eyes met. Harry's green eyes swam with something, something Amora had seen in Draco's eyes before, and he began to lean down. For some reason, Amora didn't stop him. His hands held her waist as their lips met in the middle, just like they had nearly a year ago at Gryffindor's Christmas party beneath the mistletoe. Now, however, there was no mistletoe.

But Amora was still kissing back. Her brows were furrowed together in confusion, her eyes closed. She didn't feel the same butterflies and sparks that she did when she kissed Draco, yet it still felt just like Harry-- comfortable and warm. His lips were soft and gentle against hers, like he was scared of breaking any boundaries, moving shyly and hesitantly. Amora was pretty sure that she had been his first kiss last year, and his only kiss.

She pulled away, her lips parting and her eyes shining with regret as they looked into his. How could she be so stupid? Whilst it didn't mean much at all to her, Harry probably still had that stupid crush on her. Yet she had kissed him in spite of Draco, even if he wasn't there to witness it. 

"Wait," Harry blurted, "Before you say anything, please let me say something first."

"Harry..." Amora whispered painfully.

"I know you don't like me back," Harry said, "I know we don't see each other in the same way, but I... Just let me kiss you again. Please?"

Amora swallowed. "We shouldn't."

But part of her actually wanted to kiss him again. However, it was not for the right reasons. Not because she liked Harry, but because it was a good stress relief and put her one above Draco. Sure, he was kissing other girls, but Amora was kissing his enemy... Someone Draco had told her he was insecure about.

She felt sick for the rush of power that surged through her. Amora felt like she was the most evil person on the planet, kissing her ex-boyfriend's enemy. Until the other voice in her head said that he deserved it. In fact, he deserved to watch like he had made her watch.

"We shouldn't, or you don't want to?" Harry dared to ask.

"I want to, but I don't think it's for the same reasons you want to kiss me, Harry," Amora admitted sadly.

Harry hesitated. "I'm... I'm okay with that."

"No," Amora shook her head. "You shouldn't be. Please, Harry. You deserve someone so much better than me. I'm..." She felt her throat constrict. "I am no good for you."

Harry frowned. "But... we're so right for each other, Amora. We both lost Cedric, we both value our friends above anyone... Haven't you always felt like we just make so much sense?"

"Maybe," Amora croaked, feeling the tears finally slip and she cursed herself for it. "Maybe in some sort of perfect universe, Harry. But- But this world isn't perfect, and I promise you it's true when I say that you could do so much better than me."

Amora honestly did believe that in some other universe, she was with Harry. That she had fallen for the right guy instead of the one that she had chosen because she liked his unpredictability and because of 'her stupid fucking saviour complex.'

"Better than you?" Harry huffed, "You say that as if you're not one of the kindest girls in the whole school. Like you're not one of the most loyal friends someone could have..."

"I'm not," Amora sniffled, her hands moving to cover her eyes. "I'm not who you think I am."

Harry looked startled and confused.

Amora's breath was caught in her throat, her heart pounding loudly in her chest. The tears slid down her cheeks. She didn't know how to stop them, Harry was just making her feel worse. He thought she was so great, but she had been running around with Draco behind his back the entire time.

"I didn't mean to make you cry--"

"Fuck," Amora blurted, nearly choking as she grabbed Harry and tugged him back into a hug. "Harry, I am so incredibly lucky to have you in my life. Your friendship means everything to me. Do you understand?"

"I'm lucky to have you too," he nodded against her. "I don't care what you said about you not being who I think you are, whatever that means. I know you're a good person, Amora. I know you."

"I'm- I'm sorry if you thought I was leading you on. I got lost in the moment."

"Well, it was a good moment," Harry whispered, smiling slightly. "I promise I don't try to fall for you, Amora."

Amora sent him a half-smile, unsure what to say.

"Can I kiss you goodbye, maybe?" Harry asked, "You can kiss back for whatever reason you did before... Stress, whatever... I just- I don't want to forget how it feels. I'll really take it in this time."

"How what feels?" Amora frowned.

Harry swallowed, glancing to the side of her. "How it feels to... to have someone need you for something other than saving their life. I didn't really get much affection growing up... Kissing you just feels like..."

"Like you're important?" Amora finished for him, a blond boy on her mind that made her heart clench painfully. "Harry, you're The Boy Who Lived... You don't need some girl to make you feel like you're worth something," she tried to tease weakly.

"Don't joke like that," Harry murmured, shaking his head. "Makes me fall harder."

Amora's breath hitched as Harry leaned down for the second time that night and they shared their third ever kiss. Without thinking much of the consequences it could have for Harry, Amora poured all of her sudden hatred for Draco into it, her hands moving to grab at his shirt, dragging it down a little. Harry kissed back, a lot more sure than last time, his nose brushing her cheek. Amora felt his glasses bump her face a little, his hand moving to hold the back of her head, threading through her dark hair slightly.

They pulled away, breathless. Amora was sure that her lips were probably a bit swollen-- Harry's were a little redder than usual. He gave her a shy smile.

She was sure of one thing as they began to bid their farewells to each other: Amora Buckley was not a good person. By trying to get back at Draco and attempting to make herself feel better, she had lost herself in the process.


	56. Chapter 56

The shower Amora took that night didn't wash away the guilt that was eating her alive. She'd taken advantage of Harry's feelings for her just to hurt Draco. In the process, she believed she'd ended up hurting all three of them. As she wrapped herself up in her towel and stared in the mirror, Amora didn't really recognise the girl staring back at her. 

She looked tired. Not bizarre for the bookworm, but mentally and emotionally exhausted... She could see it behind her own eyes. Over the past month, her collarbones had become more visible beneath skin that had started to pale. Amora wasn't sure if that was because it was December and there had been no real sun since the beginning of September, or if it was because she felt like she was in constant pain. 

Like always, though, Amora dried herself off and slipped on her father's old shirt and a pair of cotton shorts. She pursed her lips and glanced in the mirror one final time. It reminded her of the staring session she'd had with herself earlier after catching Draco and Daphne snogging in the corridors. 

Her heart lurched at the memory. 

Suddenly she felt the desire to storm to the Slytherin common room and smack both of their heads together. Amora knew it wasn't Daphne's fault, but it didn't stop her from rather irrationally wanting to rip all of her blonde hair out of her head and hurt her. The feeling was so intense it scared her. Amora had never felt jealousy like this before. 

"Amora?" Kathy's knuckles rapped on the bathroom door. "Erm, Hermione is here. She wants to speak to you."

Hermione. Amora's brown eyes lit up. Somebody that would talk some sense to her, somebody that would help her dig herself out of this hole that she was being buried alive inside. 

Ripping open the bathroom door, Amora found Hermione perched on the end of Amora's bed. Amora offered the brunette a small smile, her heart lurching when Hermione didn't immediately return it. 

"Can we talk outside, Amora?" Hermione asked, her eyes casting over to Susan who was watching the exchange, not even bothering to pretend that she was reading the book in her hands. 

"Um, of course."

Hermione led the way. They passed the common room filled with students spending their last nights together before the train came for them in the morning and moved out into the barrel-filled hallway. The Gryffindor girl's face suddenly contorted into an expression that conveyed a mixture of both anger and confusion.

"You kissed Harry?" Hermione demanded. 

Amora's breath hitched. "I-- Yes? Well, I'd say it was a definitely meet-in-the-middle kind of thing the first time, but the second time was him. I did kiss him back again though, which I know now I shouldn't have--"

"You're right!" Hermione snapped and Amora only then realised that her cheeks were tinted red with rage. "You shouldn't have kissed him! Do- Do you realise how evil this is? How you're stringing him along when we both know you still aren't over Malfoy, Harry's enemy?"

Amora's bottom lip began to tremble slightly. "I know," she practically whimpered. "I... I wasn't thinking. Draco kissed Daphne and--"

"So you thought it would be appropriate to drag Harry into your mess?" Hermione scolded, and Amora flinched. "He came back to the common room blushing, like he was on cloud nine or something! And then he tells Ron and I that you two kissed not once but twice, and I can't believe my ears! And of course I have to play the stick in the mud yet again, trying to tell him that you don't like him, but Ron reckons you're secretly playing hard to get because he's bloody Ron--"

"I'm sorry," Amora blurted, shaking her head. "I- I'm being honest, Hermione. I didn't mean to hurt him, I didn't mean for him to get roped in... He was just there and he made me feel safe and comfortable... Draco had been being a dick to me since after dinner--"

"Draco should have nothing to do with you and Harry." Hermione shook her head. "Do you realise how heartbroken he'd be if he found out that you were using him?"

Amora's heart snapped. She'd used Harry. 

"Hermione--"

"Don't." The Gryffindor girl raised an index finger to silence her. "This isn't my apology to hear, this is Harry's. You've... You've really changed, Amora. You need to work out what you want and then you need to let the rest of us know, because this can't happen again."

Amora's fingers dived to wipe tears that fell from her own eyes. "I already know what I want, Hermione. But I can't have it."

For a moment, Hermione's face shifted a little and she looked sympathetic. It was gone nearly as quickly as it came. 

"Then you need to move on," she whispered harshly, "Before you drag Harry down with you."

Amora watched Hermione whirl around and leave. Somehow, the confrontation had broken her heart nearly as much as seeing Draco kiss another girl had. It just confirmed it to her that she was morphing into some sort of monster, some sort of evil witch that was taking from others. All her Hufflepuff qualities were being thrown out of the window, these days she was acting out of sheer desperation and heartbreak. 

Amora wasn't aware she was outside the Slytherin common room until she was faced with a bare wall. She blinked at it for a moment. She didn't even know the password, and even if she did, what the hell was she going to do? Just waltz straight in? Amora didn't know what she would see on the other side, but part of her was expecting Daphne Greengrass sitting in Draco's lap. 

She turned on her heel, a loud gasp ripping past her throat as she nearly walked straight into Theo. She released a breath of relief, just glad that it wasn't Professor Snape or Draco.

Theo's brows shot up in surprise. "Amora!" He scratched the back of his neck. "Um, I was just on my way back from my girlfriend's. Are you here for Draco?" 

Amora winced. He was probably the person she didn't want to see the most right now. "No..." She whispered, "Pansy."

Theo's face seemed to kind of fall. "Oh," he said. "Yeah, I can get her for you. Just a sec."

Theo murmured the password to the common room beneath his breath before the wall slid open, revealing an entrance. Amora couldn't hear anybody inside and she didn't dare look, terrified she would see just what her heart was dreading. She probably didn't have the right to be so scared of seeing Draco and Daphne together, especially since she had just been with Harry. But still...

Amora jumped, realising she must have been daydreaming for longer than she thought when the wall slid back open to reveal Pansy. The ebony haired girl looked concerned, her brows knitting together in fury when she saw the look on Amora's face. 

"What happened?" Pansy demanded, reaching forward and grabbing Amora's wrist, tugging her inside. 

"Pansy, no..." The words died in her throat when she realised that the Slytherin common room was actually already empty, aside from a few first years reading by the window in the corner. 

No Draco or Daphne in sight. 

"What happened?" The ebony-haired girl repeated, dragging her over to the leather couch by the fire, forcing her to sit down beside her. 

Amora turned to look at Pansy and promptly burst into tears. Pansy's icy eyes widened, an expression of pure shock and even fear coating her facial features. It was obvious she didn't know how to comfort Amora, who then felt insanely guilty. She tried to stand up, only for Pansy to grab her once more. 

"Pans--" Amora had expected to be shoved back down onto the couch, but was met with arms instead. 

It was the first hug that Pansy had ever initiated and not to mention their most bone-crushing yet. No words left Pansy's lips, her brain empty of things she could say that would stop the Hufflepuff from crying in her arms. So she just held her together, as if trying to stop her from crumbling and breaking onto the green rug beneath their feet. 

Amora held her back, her face burying just above Pansy's chest, her hot tears cascading down her cheeks and dripping onto her pyjama shirt. Pansy's silk pyjama set was probably getting wet, but the Slytherin girl made no attempts to move Amora away or scold her for it. Amora felt Pansy's hand begin to stroke through her hair as she guided them both back down onto the couch. 

"What did the bastard do?" Pansy said through gritted teeth. 

"It's about me," Amora said in a strangled breath, "It's about what I'm doing. To myself, to Harry... Probably even to Draco, if he still cares. I'm hurting everyone. I- I'm so selfish these days, I don't even recognise myself anymore. A-And I keep thinking about how- how much I'm losing. Cedric, Draco... I'll probably lose Harry after this, and then Ron and Hermione. And then how long until I lose you too?"

"You're not losing me, Amora," Pansy promised her, almost furious at the accusation. "And I don't understand how you can say these things. You're the kindest person I know, Draco deserves--"

"I kissed Harry," Amora blurted, her lips trembling at the memory. "Twice. Tonight."

Pansy's eyes enlarged slightly. "Well, I'm sure Potter probably enjoyed it, and Draco doesn't get a say--"

"But I'm going to hurt him, Pans. I led him on... I used him. That's not me, Pansy, I would have never acted so irrationally before all of this happened. I don't- I was so blinded by anger from seeing Draco with Daphne--"

"What?" Pansy screeched, "Greengrass? Daphne Greengrass?"

"Yes," Amora croaked, "Did you know about them?"

"They're not together," Pansy's face screwed up. "I mean, her and Astoria have had crushes on him since before Hogwarts, but he's never shown either of them even an ounce of interest unless his father was ordering it at bloody Christmas parties or whatever."

"But they kissed." Amora's throat felt clogged as she said it. "Right in front of me. A few hours ago."

"Draco's a bastard. I'll kill him next time I see him! I- Merlin, I'm sorry, Amora. I was riling him up in the common room after dinner, saying that you were probably off with Potter and stuff... He got so angry..." Pansy shook her head. "I didn't think he'd go this far to try and get back at you."

"I shouldn't have lied to him about it in the first place," Amora dismissed Pansy's self-blame. "I've done this to myself. I should never have told him I loved him, I shouldn't have lied about being with Harry, and I shouldn't have then gone and kissed Harry to retaliate. This- This whole situation is making me just-- Merlin, I don't know."

"Stop blaming yourself," Pansy scolded her. "Draco's playing a huge role in this too, you know. Hurting you after you confessed that you loved him, ignoring you for over a month and then kissing another girl in front of you to hurt you yet again. I'm not saying you're perfect, Amora, but a good person who makes a few bad mistakes isn't suddenly a bad person."

"Well, I officially hate myself," Amora said childishly, folding her arms across her chest and leaning back into the sofa, glaring at the fireplace ahead. "And I wish I had never been stuck in that bloody library with Draco. I wish... Merlin, I wish I had just fallen in love with Harry instead. Everyone tried telling me to give him a chance, but I ignored them. And- And what makes me hate myself even more is the fact that Harry sees nothing wrong in anything I do! I mean, he doesn't know anything about me and Draco, but he keeps acting like I'm some sort of angel. But if he knew the truth, he'd hate me, Pansy!"

"You are an angel." Pansy rolled her eyes. "You're just in a bad place right now. The fact that you care so much says so. Someone who really was a bad person wouldn't care."

"I just wish I could start fresh," Amora exhaled shakily. 

Pansy scoffed, offering Amora a small side-smile. "You know what? I sometimes think the same thing too."

"Well, we can do that when we get married then," Amora managed a tiny grin. "We can elope somewhere sunny, get married, and forget the past few months ever happened."

"We can't get married, you wanted a beach wedding, remember?" Pansy said. 

"You haven't seen the beach my house is on," Amora disclaimed, "It's surrounded by these cliffs... Just this little cove space, no sand to get in your shoes... just pebbles. Nobody else has ever found it before. The only way in is through Floo or Apparition."

"I would have thought you lived somewhere in a town," Pansy admitted, "Surrounded by Muggles, seeing as your mother is the professor of Muggle Studies."

Amora smiled softly. "No. I've always lived at the cottage. Never really left the beach, only when I was really little. Mum put me into a Muggle primary school, actually." Amora didn't miss the way Pansy's nose scrunched up, but carried on. "It was really scary... I didn't really understand much, coming from a Pureblood family, of course."

"Was it torture?" Pansy gaped.

"I don't think so. I only ended up going for four days before my teacher warned my mother that I was failing to make friends, scaring all the other kids off with stories of house-elves and magical creatures that floated about sucking the souls out of bad people," Amora chuckled at the distant memory. "Mother was horrified, of course. She'd made me swear not to talk about magic, but I don't think I really understood-- I had never performed magic at that point. Just seen my parents and the rest of my family do it."

Pansy appeared genuinely interested, furrowing her brows. "Does it not make you angry that none of those Muggles wanted to befriend you? Because you were honest about who you were?"

"No," Amora admitted, "I was four, I think. I don't think you can really hold grudges at that age, can you?"

"I suppose not..." Pansy shrugged. "Did you like being there, then?"

"Can't remember most of it, just going in and playing with the dolls and learning to trace words. I remember some girl grabbing a stick off the playground floor and telling me it was a magic wand and I actually thought she was another witch for a bit," Amora recalled, "But I do remember being disappointed when mother told me I wouldn't be going anymore. I remember her being upset too. I think she sent me there like some sort of Muggle Studies project, seeing as both her and my father are Purebloods too, obviously."

"Do you still wish you'd gone to a Muggle primary school?"

"Not really," the brunette murmured, "Cedric and I did most of our school work together at my house. We had this really funny tutor who'd give us sweets at the end of every month if we'd completed all of our work. After Cedric started going to Hogwarts I got a bit lonely, though."

Pansy nodded in agreement. "It could be terribly boring. My mother and father paid for this French woman. Madam Spire-- I'll never forget the wretched woman. She was ever so strict, and she used to get so furious when I couldn't pronounce French words or fumbled with certain chords on the piano."

"You can play the piano?" Amora asked, feeling her eyes start to droop in the dim lighting of the Slytherin common room. 

"Poorly. Mother says my playing is an embarrassment. I did learn the violin, though. I still play whenever I go home," Pansy said, "Do you play anything?"

"No. I did dancing lessons instead," Amora said, yawning as she rested her head on Pansy's shoulder, both girls staring ahead tiredly. "It never interested me that much. I'd always wish for the hours to go by so I could just go outside and play or read my books."

Pansy smiled a little bit. "It can have a library-- our house. When we elope and get married on the beach, our house can have a library."

"I thought you wanted an indoor wedding?"

"Your little cove sounds cute," Pansy said, "And it sounds like it means a lot to you."

"It does," Amora whispered, recalling all of the days she'd spent there-- with her mother, with Cedric. 

Somehow, all thoughts of how she'd used Harry, how she was a bad person, and how Draco had broken her heart seemed to diminish. She remembered jumping over the waves with Cedric, trying to find the most interesting seashells with her mother and even her father teaching her how to swim when she was really young. Amora's eyes fluttered shut, her mind drifting to a place where she was running to the shoreline, Pansy running beside her, the two of them laughing. 

And Draco was there. Blaise and Theo too. They were in the sea, looking like careless teenagers for once. Draco's platinum hair was wet and sticking to his forehead, but he shook it out of his face as he laughed and gestured for her to come into the sea with them. More laughter came from behind them, where her other friends were-- Harry, Hermione, Ron, Neville, Luna, Ginny, the twins... Cedric was there too. Even Kathy and Leon. 

And her the comforting scent of her mother's bread baking drifted from the cottage, mixing with the salt of the sea and the sunscreen on her skin. The sun was kissing her body, bringing out the freckles that danced upon her nose. For a few moments, everything was actually perfect. 

"Pansy, Amora, get in-- the water's fine!"

Amora grinned, starting to emerge herself into the sea. It felt glorious on her skin, glittering and warm, dancing against her skin as she walked further and further out... Towards Draco... Closer... Closer... 

"Pansy, Amora-- wake up!"

The brunette jumped, her eyes blinking open. She was disorientated for a few moments until she realised she was sprawled out on a couch in the Slytherin common room, using Pansy as a pillow, her arms wrapped around Pansy's torso and her head resting on her stomach. Pansy began to blink awake too, clearly confused as she raised her head from the pillow it lay on. 

"Did you two seriously fall asleep down here?" Theo scolded from above them.

"No, we fell asleep upstairs and must have Apparated down here in our sleeps," Pansy muttered sarcastically before ripping the pillow out from underneath her head and flinging it at Theo. "Of course we fell asleep down here, dumb arse!"

"Well, you're lucky it's not a school day or everybody would have seen you," Theo said, rolling his eyes and throwing the pillow into an armchair. "But people are going to start heading down soon because the train leaves at midday."

"Shit," Amora winced, feeling something in her back click as she sat up. "Sorry, Pans... I didn't mean to--"

"None of that," Pansy said quickly, "Just get your arse up and back to your dorm before people see you wandering around in the corridors in nothing but shorts and that Merlin ugly shirt."

Amora sent her a slight glare. "Hey... the top's comfortable."

"Don't care," Pansy quipped, "I'll see you at one. Most people will have left for Christmas break and we can take full advantage of the Great Hall being empty."

Amora sent her a sleepy salute. "Gottcha. See you in a bit."

After escaping back to the Hufflepuff common room without being seen, Amora hopped into the shower and did the rest of her morning routine. She thought about her dream last night; how amazing it had been to be in her natural element with all of her friends. Draco and Harry hadn't been glaring at each other, Cedric was still there, Leon hadn't hurt her yet, and they were all enjoying the place she had grown up in... 

Amora didn't think it was too much to ask to have that, yet it was an impossibility outside of her own head. She nearly considered heading straight back to bed, laying her head on the pillow and willing for herself to dream such a dream again. 

But Amora had made commitments-- and she was excited. Thrilled, even, to spend the next three weeks with Pansy. She never ever thought that she would be friends with the girl, let alone skipping Christmas with her family to be with her. 

As soon as Amora left the bathroom, she found her friends all in their dorm, hauling their bags and trunks together. Amora wished all of them a good Christmas and they did the same before Amora got changed into a pinafore dress and left to go and find her mother. 

Professor Buckley was standing next to Professor Snape, much to Amora's slight disbelief. Oftentimes she forgot that her Potions teacher worked with her mother because Amora thought the man was insufferable and mean-- she didn't know why anyone would go near him by choice. 

"-- Well, you may have no choice, Elle -" Professor Snape's hiss faded as his beady eyes drifted to eye at Amora who approached them, confused. 

"Mother?" Amora swallowed, nervous beneath Snape's gaze. "I was just coming to say goodbye..."

She shoved her hand into the pocket of her pinafore dress to act casual, her fingers brushing against something cold. It was the tie pin Draco had gotten her for her birthday; the one she'd tucked away to stop her from looking at it. She pulled her hand out immediately, feeling her heart skip a beat.

Professor Snape's jaw clenched and he raised his eyebrows at Amora's mother who sent her a weak smile. "Right. Of course, darling. Come on, then. Let's leave Severus alone."

The woman's boney hand moved to grab Amora's shoulder and she was practically hauled away with the Potions teacher. Amora couldn't help but glance behind them at him, a shudder passing through her when she found his black eyes already on them. 

"Mum," Amora hissed quietly, "What were you talking about? Why don't you have a choice?"

Professor Buckley lowered her voice. "Severus is in belief that it may be in my best interest to leave my position at Hogwarts as Muggle Studies teacher."

"What?" Amora froze. "Why?"

"The return of You-Know-Who no doubt has some of his followers feeling as though... they can take on the world. Quite literally, actually. And do not tell any of your friends, but I have received a few rather nasty letters since Harry Potter claimed to have seen him," Professor Buckley said. 

"What?" Amora gaped, appalled. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"It's none of your business, Amora," her mother reminded her sternly, "And it is being handled accordingly. Professor Dumbledore has assured me that nothing will happen to me, you, or your father, so long as he is around."

Amora couldn't help but doubt the blind trust that her mother, like everybody else, seemed to have in Dumbledore. She didn't doubt that he was extremely clever and powerful, she'd heard the stories and read the facts, but he couldn't be in all places at once. Worry tugged at her stomach and her heart. 

Noticing the look on her daughter's face, Professor Buckley sighed and pulled her into a hug. "See? Now you're going to be stressing about it, aren't you?"

"No..." Amora tried to dismiss her. 

"Don't tell pork pies."

"Mother!" Amora's head snapped around, hoping nobody else heard the childish talk. "Obviously I'll be worried about it! I- Will you resign from teaching here?"

Professor Buckley's jaw clenched. "Never. They'll have to drag me out of this castle kicking and screaming. If anything, my role is more important than ever. It's my job to make sure some of the prejudiced students among our school don't follow in their parents' footsteps."

Amora believed her mother wholeheartedly. She knew it was where she got her stubbornness from. Exchanging goodbyes with her mother was bittersweet, part of her wishing she could go home for Christmas but also excited at the prospect of spending it at Hogwarts with Pansy. She knew a Christmas at home wouldn't be the same anyway, not when Cedric wasn't there.

Amora had one last stop before she had to meet Pansy in the Great Hall. Making her way to the Gryffindor tower, she was worried about the state she might find Harry in. Would he have woken up with a new perspective about everything, hating her? Or would he be all over her like he had been last year? 

All she knew was that she had to get there before he left for Christmas, and she had to make sure that he was okay. 

"Neville!" Amora bounded over to the boy who was coming out of the portrait hole, a trunk already by his feet. "Hi, is Harry in there?"

Seamus and Dean were climbing out after Neville. "Harry's gone," Dean said for him. 

"What?" Amora frowned, "The train doesn't leave for another half an hour, though?"

"Had a nightmare last night, didn't he?" Seamus replied, "Woke the lot of us up. Something about Ron's old man."

"Mr Weasley?" Amora's brows furrowed. "What- What does a nightmare have to do with things?"

"I'm not entirely sure," Neville answered, slightly apologetically. "But this morning, Harry and Ron were gone. So was Hermione, Ginny, Fred, and George. So... Something probably did happen."

"Oh." Amora didn't know what else to say. "Thank you, anyway. Have- Have a good Christmas, you three."

There was a small chorus of the same words back. Amora headed back down the stairs from the Gryffindor tower, concern in the pit of her stomach for Harry, Hermione, and the Weasleys. She hoped that they were going to be okay, and if it had anything to do with Harry's dream, then especially Arthur Weasley. 

The brunette was barely watching where she was going, like normal, so her heart lurched in her chest when she ended up colliding with someone else. Amora glanced up at some seventh year Gryffindors who muttered apologies as she balanced herself, halting still. She rubbed her shoulder from where a particularly large one had bashed into it before feeling a pair of eyes on her. 

Draco was standing across the corridor, his briefcase in his hands and a black turtleneck on, a Slytherin green blazer on top. He was going home for Christmas, she realised, but wasn't surprised. 

"Coming back from the Gryffindor tower?" He muttered and Amora noticed his silver eyes were framed by lilac bags. 

"Twenty points to Slytherin," Amora replied sarcastically, but her heart wasn't really in the comeback. 

Draco stared at her a little longer. "You have a good Christmas, Buckley."

Amora rolled her eyes. "Oh? What's with the change of heart? Weren't you telling me just yesterday that I was a whore?" 

"I may have implied that, yes," Draco shrugged. 

"Fuck you." 

Draco scoffed. "Well aren't you one? Going around telling people you love them and then snogging over boys straight after?"

"Straight after is such an exaggeration, and you act as though my confession went down well," Amora seethed, "Besides, you hypocrite, you've got Greengrass now, haven't you? I hope you've made her aware of the clear issues you seem to have."

"Issues?" Draco's face hardened. 

"Yes," Amora scowled, "Obviously you find love scary. But don't worry, Draco, I've done you the favour of moving on. You should too, rather than calling me a whore and keeping tabs on me."

Amora was very much aware that she had not moved on a single bit. Not only that, but she didn't even want him to move on. She just needed some sort of world renouncing apology or something. 

"You've not moved on," Draco laughed. "Don't humour me like that, Amora."

"Is Greengrass your girlfriend?"

"What does it matter to you?" Draco huffed. 

"I'll take that as a no then. And I'll also take that as you kissing her yesterday just to hurt me. That sounds a lot like someone who hasn't moved on to me."

His silver eyes burned into hers. So intense that she nearly trembled beneath his intimidating gaze. 

"She was a far better kisser than you," he spat. 

Amora felt sick. In her head, she thought of spreading yet another lie— something about Harry being brave enough to not be scared of love, that she was happier than ever with Harry because he wasn't emotionally distant like Draco could be. Something that would dig deep and make him feel as insecure as he had just made her feel. 

But Hermione's words came crawling back, and so did Harry's small smile and nervous laughter. She couldn't keep using him. 

Amora's silence made Draco hesitate, his scowl lifting for only a few seconds before he glared again. 

"And at least she's not a blood traitor either."

Amora didn't realise what she was doing until Draco captured her wrist. She'd swung to hit him in the face, but he'd caught her last second. His slender fingers burned against her skin, the look in his eyes darkening. 

"I admire what you're doing, Draco," Amora sneered, "I must say, it's working."

"What's working?" Draco spat. 

"Getting me to hate you." Amora tugged her arm out of his grasp. "It's working. 'Cause now, when I think of you, I'm starting to think of the boy that's a bully and kissed another girl in front of me and called me stupid and a whore-- rather than the one I thought I knew a couple of months ago."

Draco went silent. Something flickered in his eyes, something Amora couldn't detect. She wished she could read his mind, figure out what was going on in his confusing head. 

"Whatever, Malfoy," Amora huffed, brushing her hair down and concealing her anger. "Whatever. This is exhausting. Whatever has been going on for the past couple of days. We should just go back to ignoring each other. Life was much easier for the both of us that way, I think."

Draco still didn't say anything. She reached into the pocket of her pinafore. 

"Have a good Christmas, Malfoy," Amora muttered, grabbing his hand. 

Draco's eyes widened, nearly taking a step back as her fingers curled around his clenched knuckles and pulled them apart, turning his hand over. He felt her slip something inside his palm before she pushed his hand back into a closed fist, her figure disappearing down the corridor. 

Draco looked down, peeling open his hand. 

A small, golden badger lay inside. 

...


	57. Chapter 57

Hogwarts at Christmas time was more magical than anything Amora had ever witnessed before. It seemed like the epitome of the word, one of the best places to be. It wasn't exactly the same as being in the cottage listening to Christmas songs with her parents, Cedric, and his parents, but it was nearly just as good in a different way. 

Seeing as Amora's dormitory was empty aside from her, on Christmas Eve, she'd snuck Pansy inside and allowed the girl to sleep in her bed whilst Amora took Hannah's. They stayed up talking most of the night, but nothing about Draco or Harry. They'd both promised to talk nothing about the situation for the Christmas holidays, the fight she'd had with Draco a week ago becoming nothing but a distant thought. 

He'd crossed several lines during their argument. Lines that Amora wasn't sure they even needed to have. Part of her stayed up at night worrying about them. Was she a bad kisser? Was she a whore and a blood traitor? Amora managed to shove all of the thoughts away after a while, knowing Draco was being just pathetic and angry. 

"Merry Christmas, Pansy!"

Amora watched as the ebony-haired girl groaned loudly, rolling over to shove her face into her pillow. The Hufflepuff girl simply laughed, shaking her head and moving to the end of her bed where some presents had been delivered by her parents. Amora moved under her bed, retrieving the gift that she had bought Pansy in Hogsmeade.

"It's present time, Pans." Amora shook the sleepy girl's shoulder. 

"I won't have any," Pansy dismissed her, grabbing onto the duvet as Amora tugged it a little bit. 

"I think you do have one or two," Amora beamed somewhat shyly, watching as Pansy slowly lifted her head, frowning at Amora in confusion. "From me."

Pansy sat up, the frown not decreasing from her porcelain skin. "Amora... What?"

"A present." Amora rolled her eyes playfully, shoving it onto Pansy's lap. "From me."

"You shouldn't have," Pansy breathed, her fingers tracing the wrapping paper. "You're a terrible wrapper."

Amora chuckled, a memory of Draco telling her the exact same thing on his birthday coming to mind. "So I've been told. Would you like to open it now or after breakfast? Usually, we open ours as soon as we wake up and then have breakfast."

Pansy reached under her pillow and pulled out a small box, handing it to Amora. "We can open them now."

Pansy tore her gift open to reveal a hair grip that was in the shape of a serpent, silver with emerald details. Pansy admired it for a few moments, a small smile dancing across her features. 

"It would look cute if you pinned the fronts of your hair back with it," Amora insisted, grasping it from her and moving behind Pansy. 

Her black hair was quite short already, sitting just above her shoulders. Amora reached for some strands from the front, brushing it through with her fingers and pulling it behind Pansy's head. Pansy felt as Amora pinned the hair into place with her brand new hair clip, her own fingers darting up to feel it there. Amora came back around, pulling out a few strands at the front of Pansy's hair. 

"Looks cute," Amora grinned, "It's not real gold, though. I'm sure you must already know that--"

"Doesn't matter," Pansy quipped, "I love it. So much. Thank you, Amora."

Amora beamed, proud to see the smile on Pansy's face. "Ah one more." She reached down and grasped another gift, wrapped neater than the previous one. "This one is from my mother. I didn't tell her why you weren't going home, but I think she understood that there was a reason deeper for me staying here."

Pansy frowned again and unwrapped the paper, picking out a pair of gloves coloured emerald and silver for Slythern. "From Professor Buckley?" She gaped. 

"Yep," Amora said, "She went out and got your house colours for you, see? You can wear them to Slytherin matches and stuff."

"Your mother's really kind, Amora," Pansy whispered, slipping them on her hands experimentally. "Please, tell her thank you for me."

"Of course, of course." 

Amora went next, obviously. Pansy extended her hands, providing her a decent sized box. When she ripped it open, she nearly laughed at the sight of a pair of pyjamas inside. They were silk like hers, but rather than black they were a light pink colour with black trimmings and details. Amora gasped as she reached inside, skimming her fingers along the smooth material. 

"I know you said sleeping in that old shirt is comfy, but these feel so soft on your skin and they're cute too. I hope you don't mind the pink. I've never seen you wear the colour before, but I thought that it would suit you," Pansy explained, "Do you like them?"

"I love them," Amora corrected her, grinning as she grabbed Pansy into a hug. 

This time, Pansy hugged back almost immediately. 

D.M + A.B 

The floor was freezing beneath his feet, the entire manor still. Draco could hear the birds twittering outside, their early morning playlist a huge contrast to the snores he usually woke up to at school. No light poured through the curtains that hung over his large windows, but he was sure if he were to open them then it would be bright. 

Draco shuffled towards his bathroom, brushing his teeth and doing his business, the same sinking feeling in his stomach that had been there for weeks now present. He only remembered that it was Christmas Day as he was half way through combing through his hair, his silver eyes lowering from the mirror in indifference. 

"M-Master Draco?" Came a small, squeaky voice from outside his bedroom door. "Mistress Malfoy has requested your presence in the dining room, sir."

"One moment, Mippy," Draco huffed. 

"Yes, Master Draco. Mippy will let Mistress Malfoy know Master Draco will be one moment," he heard the House-elf say before there was a small pop. 

Draco dreaded heading downstairs. Every Christmas was the same for the Malfoy family. Rarely anything happened aside from the fact that Draco received more presents than he was sure Potter had ever seen in a lifetime. Although, the older he got, the less that meant to him. The presents became sparser yet more expensive, but it didn't warm Draco's heart or make him happy anymore.

He'd spent Christmas at Hogwarts in the second year, and he'd seen from other students how Christmas was supposed to be done. He'd also heard stories; stories of families who spent the whole day together, cosying up by some warm fire and laughing as they ate their food. Draco was not to laugh unless at an acceptable moment, and even then, he found neither his mother nor father particularly funny. 

Draco forced himself down the stairs of the manor, his hands holding the railing out of instinct. Once, when he was younger, he'd fallen down them and hurt his ankle badly. He remembered sobbing on the carpet below, crying out for his mother, only for his father to find him instead. A bit of magic fixed his ankle, but the words his father had spat at him wounded him even now. 

"Mother?" Draco called as he entered the dining room. 

He found a table with enough food for about eight people, fruits and pastries and jugs of juice sat around waiting to be consumed. Narcissa Malfoy sat at the end of the table, dressed as elegantly as ever, but Lucius Malfoy was not in sight. Draco couldn't help but nearly sigh in relief. 

He hadn't always been so tense around his father, but that was when he was younger and more naive. He grew up wanting to be just like him, wanting to be strong and powerful and have people run around after him just like they did Lucius, and it was only really last year, during the fourth year, that he began to resent his father. 

Resent the way that he had never experienced fatherly love. How nothing he ever did was good enough for Lucius, or how his friends and housemates all got two letters at the end of every week whilst Draco only got one from his mother. He hated how he was always too busy for him, but when he was at home, he treated Draco like he treated everybody else. 

Draco didn't really want to be like his father anymore. Especially not since the return of the Dark Lord. Watching his father crumble beneath someone more powerful than himself was scary to Draco, who had always thought Lucius was fearless. It molded things into perspective for him, that his father had never been a leader-- just a follower, and a scared one at that. 

And after falling in love with Amora, his hatred for his father only intensified. 

That's right; falling in love. With Amora. 

Draco was scared. He was scared that she made him change all of these opinions and beliefs that he had thought were true for so many years, and he was scared how she had unknowingly cast a different light on Lucius. How could one teenage girl cause him to tear away from years and years of Malfoy tradition? 

Fear struck him as he knew it would never end well. He could imagine the look on his father's face if he ever found out that Draco was dating Amora Buckley. A Pureblood, sure, but a blood traitor at that. Draco was scared about what his father would ever do to Amora if he found out the truth. 

If he found out that Draco harboured feelings for her, feelings so strong that at first he had mistaken the fluttering of his heart as chest pain and the dopamine flooding through his veins as some sort of spell, they'd both be dead. His father could never know how he felt. 

Not even Amora could. 

Merlin, he remembered her confession as though it was yesterday rather than just over a month ago. He remembered sitting there in silence for a few moments, his heart pounding out of his chest, his palms sweaty and his eyes nearly growing wet. Nobody- nobody- had ever told him that before apart from his own mother. Not as a joke, not platonically, never. 

His first reaction was to shut down. To block her out, to convince himself as well as her that she was lying and that she didn't know what she was talking about. Draco had always believed that nobody would ever truly love him, he'd just end up with someone who loved his money and his status, someone that was Pureblood and good enough for him in his father's eyes. 

It should have been the happiest moment of his life. 

Amora could never know that he broke both their hearts that night. That by breaking hers, he was just trying to save both of them from the inevitable pain of future heartbreak. Draco knew they could never actually end up together. Not in the long run. 

"Draco? Are you feeling okay?" A palm touched his forehead causing him to shrink away, into the seat to the side of his mother. "You were daydreaming, I think. Your father has business to attend today, unfortunately. He would have loved to have made it, but he has been tasked with a rather important job he can not pass by."

Draco didn't really care that his father wasn't there. He'd rather spend time with his mother alone anyway. He could see the way that her shoulders looked tense, the way that she didn't keep that strained smile on her face for the sake of her husband who would blow up at any given opportunity where things didn't go exactly as planned.

"It's something else, isn't it?" Narcissa hummed knowingly, reaching across and pouring some orange juice into Draco's glass. 

He frowned at his mother. "How could you tell?"

"You've been acting this way since you got off the train, my boy," Narcissa said, "And your letters for the past few weeks have not been as... enthusiastic as they were at the start of the year. Is the fifth year becoming too much of a stress? I could ask Professor Snape to cut down on your Potions homework--"

"No, no," Draco dismissed her, avoiding her eye as he grabbed the fruit bowl. "It's nothing to do with school, really."

Narcissa went quiet for a few moments. "Is it a girl?"

"Mother!"

The woman smiled mischievously. "Aha! So it is a girl. Is it the Parkinson girl? She's very pretty and she seems to like you very much."

Draco nearly laughed. "Trust me, Parkinson does not like me like that. Or at all actually."

"One of the Greengrass sisters then?" Narcissa continued, watching Draco's face scrunch up in disgust. "Well, if you would just tell me, I wouldn't have to play the guessing game, would I?" 

"I'm not telling you," Draco huffed, stabbing his fork into a piece of pineapple. 

Narcissa's smile diminished. "Do you love her, Draco?"

The confession seemed to come out naturally. "Yes. I do." It felt like a weight had been lifted from his chest, his shoulders sagging as he finally confessed to someone that he was sure he could trust. 

Narcissa had a look on her face as though she was trying to piece together why Draco would be upset about loving a girl. It was dawning on her quickly, her heart sinking in her chest. 

"She is not a Pureblood... is she?"

"She is. Her family are in the Sacred Twenty-Eight," Draco said, scowling slightly. "But she is what you and father would call a blood traitor, I suppose."

Narcissa sighed. "Oh. I see." 

They were silent. Neither of them ate. 

"One of my sisters and a cousin of mine were shunned away from the Black family for not believing in blood purity," she mentioned quietly, "Treated like dirt, like it suddenly made them unworthy and disgusting. I watched my own sister be banished from our house, I heard from strangers that she had gotten married and had a child. I remember... I remember feeling so upset with myself for not standing up for her or trying to convince her to get married to some Pureblood man for the sake of it."

Draco sat in slight shock. He'd known about the Black family history, known there had been traitors among them, but his mother had never spoken about it. He always thought she'd been too humiliated to, since their Pureblood name had been 'trashed' somewhat. 

"What are you saying?" 

"When I fell pregnant with you, Draco, I knew your father would impose our beliefs onto you as soon as you could learn how to walk and talk. I thought I would be okay with it, to bring up a boy who would become a powerful man someday, but as soon as I stared into your eyes and held your tiny hand, I knew if you ever came home and told me you were in love with someone that wasn't a Pureblood, I would still love and accept you. 

"I knew I would never be like my mother and father, to banish my child for simply loving. I wouldn't be like my aunt either, who disowned their son for opposing beliefs. I suddenly found the term 'blood traitor' unsettling. Who you love doesn't make you any less magic yourself. A-And I knew, what with the rise in Purebloods mixing with others, that there would be a possibility you would give me grandchildren that were Half-bloods. And I accepted that a long time ago."

"Well, she's a Pureblood," Draco said, uncomfortable. "So you needn't worry about that." 

"I cannot lie to you, Draco. I am happy that she is a Pureblood," Narcissa admitted sternly. "Not just for your sake, but for the sake of your father's too. I'm afraid he would not have the same... forgivingness as me if he discovered you had fallen in love with somebody who was a Half-blood or a Muggle-born. So... Should she ever visit, it would be best that you keep the fact that she doesn't support blood purity between us, yes?"

Draco's stomach turned. His nose scrunched up. "That's not possible."

"Why not?" Narcissa frowned. 

"Father already knows."

"What do you mean--" Narcissa's face dropped in realisation. "Now, is it the Buckley girl or the Weasley girl?"

By a process of elimination, Draco knew there were only two families that Lucius Malfoy resented more than actual Muggle-borns themselves. He swallowed, his palms sweaty as he dropped his fork. He couldn't look his mother in the eye, he couldn't say her name to his mother. 

"Is it the one in your year, Draco?" Narcissa asked in a gentle, hushed whisper. "Is it Amora Buckley?"

Her name made Draco flinch. Narcissa took that as a yes and sat back in her chair, wiping her hands on a cloth that she then placed down on her plate. The few seconds of silence that followed were agonising to the platinum blond-haired boy. 

"She is very beautiful, Draco," Narcissa hummed her approval. "And the Buckleys were once very respectable, until Amora's mother took up her position at Hogwarts, of course. I am shocked that her daughter would be with a Pureblood; people have been speculating for years that Amora would be the last Pureblood of her family and erase the Buckleys from the Sacred Twenty-Eight."

Draco felt sick at the thought of Amora being the topic of conversation at Pureblood get-togethers. He hated the idea of them betting on whether or not Amora would erase her pure bloodline just to say 'fuck you' to all of the blood purity beliefs. And for years, too? Even when she was just a child...

"But I suppose she is just like her mother. Elle Diggory and Klaus Buckley were both Purebloods too, obviously. She was in Hufflepuff, he was in Ravenclaw, so I didn't know them too well. But when they began to court, I recall being shocked. She'd always been the gossip between my friends and I, we'd always thought she'd rebel against her family to go for a Muggle-born or something. But she chose love over politics," Narcissa said. 

Draco felt like he was invading Amora's privacy by learning about her parents from somebody other than her. She never talked about her parents with him much, just like he never talked about his with her. Whenever they did though, it was always about their mothers, rarely ever their fathers. In fact, Draco was pretty sure that Amora had only ever mentioned her father to him once or twice. 

"Did you choose love over politics?" Draco found himself asking before he could think. He'd never wondered if his parents had been truly in love or not, despite their lack of affection behind closed doors. He'd just always assumed that was what married couples were like. 

Narcissa stilled at his question. "I think... Perhaps a mixture of the two."

Draco didn't know what that meant, and he didn't feel like prying too much. This was one of the strangest Christmas mornings he'd ever had in his life. Ten minutes ago, he couldn't imagine ever discussing Amora with his mother.

"I am assuming correctly, yes, Draco? That Amora likes you back?"

"More than like," Draco whispered, his knuckles growing white as he clenched them. "But that doesn't matter now. I ruined it all."

"More than like... as in love?"

Draco nodded firmly, staring at his plate. 

Draco's body shot up from where he'd remained seated, his heart lurching at the screams that were coming from on the grass. One sobbing cry struck out to him the most-- Amora's. He shoved past Crabbe and Goyle, ignoring Blaise's call as he marched down the stairs, trying to get closer to where Harry and Cedric had just arrived back. 

"Amora," he whispered under his breath.

People were everywhere, blocking his view. Screams and cries filled the air rather than music, his heart pounding out of his chest. Finally, he managed to shove one of the Weasley twins out of the way, feeling sick when he saw Harry and Amora kneeling over Cedric, Harry sobbing something to her that he couldn't hear from their distance. 

Draco went to dive forward as she buried her face into Cedric's shirt, pouring her tears over his dead body. However, Pansy's hands grabbed at him. She shook her head, tears in her icy eyes. Draco's breath was caught in his throat, glancing back when he heard Amora yelling again. 

"Get off of me!" She cried as Professor Buckley tried to get her off of Cedric. "Go away, go away!"

He'd never seen her so hysterical before. It pained him to see. He felt sick. He could barely process the fact that they were all being rushed away from the stands, shoved back towards their common room. Snape had a hand on Draco's shoulder, digging his fingers in as he pushed the shocked boy further and further away from Amora. 

"That was fucking disturbing," Blaise muttered, looking traumatised. 

Theo, who had experience with death surrounding his mother, frowned as he patted Blaise's back. "I wonder what happened..."

Draco could barely handle listening to them anymore. It had been forty minutes. Forty minutes of everybody freaking out over Cedric Diggory ending up dead in front of the entire school. Draco ignored Crabbe's call asking where he was going, marching out of their dormitory and heading as quickly as he could away. 

He hunted the corridors for Amora, doubting she would have been taken back to the Hufflepuff common room after the state he'd seen her in. Draco drifted by the hospital wing, seeing Fleur and Krum and a few others in there but not Amora. His heart was hurting more and more with every single minute that passed without him knowing if she was okay or not. 

He began to head for the Muggle Studies classroom. If he found Professor Buckley in there with her, he didn't know what he would do. The majority of him decided that he would push aside the secrecy of their relationship and march inside anyway, but he didn't know if that was a good idea or not. 

Voices caused him to pause in his tracks. 

"Do you need me to walk you to the common room? I can get your mother for you--" It was Leon Holloway.

"I told you what I wanted weeks ago, Leon!" Amora's voice made his heart jump. "I told you to never speak to me again. I told you that I hated you. A-And now you have a guilty conscience so you want to help me, but I don't want your help. You can't help me how I need!"

Draco's breath hitched and he began to head for them, wanting to scoop her into his arms and keep her like that forever and ever. To hold all of her pieces together and stop her from crying. The feeling scared him-- the feeling of needing someone else to be okay. Of looking after someone else. 

"Amora, please, would you just let me--"

Draco appeared around the corner behind Amora. "Are you completely deaf or just ignorant, Holloway?" He snapped, watching as Amora whirled around to face him. 

He saw her brown eyes melt further. She looked relieved to see him, her shoulders visibly sagging. But she also looked pale and sick, her eyes rimmed red and raw from being rubbed excessively. 

Leon's jaw clenched as he glared. "Fuck off, Malfoy. Amora doesn't need this right now."

"Right," Draco snided harshly, marching over and grasping Amora's hand, his hand warming. "She needs to be with people who actually care about her."

By people that love her. 

Draco nearly froze, startled by his subconscious. He felt Amora bury her head between his arm and his chest, his arm wrapping around her body to pull her close. He prayed she couldn't feel the way that his heart was pounding, the sudden realisation hitting him and making him feel sick. 

He concentrated on Leon's angry glare as his eyes bulged in realisation. "W-What--"

"She needs to be with people who won't slip her Veritaserum," Draco continued, hoping to push away from the 'L' word. 

Leon left, leaving Draco alone with Amora. He held her, bringing her into an empty classroom and pulling her down by the teacher's desk. Her back was against his chest, his legs open as she cried into him. He stroked her hair, his eyes holding nothing but pain and sympathy. 

He began to hum as he brushed her hair. It was the same song that he had heard her singing a couple of times. She had an amazing voice... In fact, she had amazing everything. 

And it killed him to see her in such a low state. Draco realised where the word had come from as he held her pieces together. He knew it had to be true as he realised he'd do this every single day if he had to, anything to bring back the smiling Amora he adored. 

He could feel her drifting off in his arms. It was one of the best feelings ever, to have her trust him this much. Draco brushed the hair out of her eyes, staring down at her... so beautiful and now so broken. 

He began to sing quietly. "The way that you glow; everybody knows, you've got a heart of gold. And mine is always broken, so I'll just paint it chrome; so you're not alone."

And he didn't think a song could ever apply to two people so much. 

"I love you, Amora," he whispered when he was sure she was fast asleep. 

"How long have you been seeing Amora Buckley, Draco?"

"Our first kiss was one year ago yesterday," Draco said, recalling the night on the astronomy tower so vividly. "And we began dating in March. Broke up last month."

Narcissa's eyes were wide. "Draco... You have been with this girl for nine months?"

"Not anymore." Draco couldn't help the edge of frustration and anger that came out. "She hates me now. Just like I wanted her to. So I just have to move on, okay? I just... I just want to be alone."

He stood, his chair scraping back. Before he could leave, however, his mother's hand grasped his wrist. "It is Christmas morning, Draco Malfoy. You will sit down and we will be together today."

Draco swallowed thickly, slowly doing as he was told. 

"For whatever stupid reason you felt the need to push her away, I need you to dismiss it. Draco, my darling, I want you to be as happy as you have been for the past few months. Your letters... They've been filled with so much expression and happiness... And I will keep this to myself. Your father will know nothing," Narcissa promised, "If- If he ever finds out, Merlin forbid, we shall discuss a plan--"

"No. I can't risk him finding out." Draco shook his head. "It's easier if I just stay away at this point. Then father doesn't have to know and I can just ignore these... these stupid feelings until they go away."

"You are very lucky to have fallen in love, Draco," Narcissa scowled, "Very, very lucky. Some people... Some people never have such a luxury."

Draco shrunk in his seat. He had a feeling he knew the answer to the question about love over politics surrounding his mother and father's relationship. His heart plummeted, his childhood feeling like somewhat of a lie. Yet, overall, he felt devastated for his mother who had never been able to experience the love that he managed to feel every time he heard Amora's laugh or looked into her eyes. 

"Then why does it feel so scary?" He whispered, "I hate the feeling. Despise it. The lack of control... Knowing she could break me any second."

Narcissa smiled weakly. "Because, my darling, you have given your heart to her. And if she's the right one, she'll handle it with care."

"What if it's too late?" Draco finally looked into his mother's eyes, surprised to find that she was close to tears. 

"If your love is authentic, it does not have an expiry date, Draco. Please, Draco. Have some courage. For me."


	58. Chapter 58

The Christmas holidays ended far sooner than Amora would have liked them to. She'd been enjoying the new year with Pansy, the two of them practically attached to the hip, so it was sort of a shock when the common room began to flood with students returning from the break one afternoon. Amora had been expecting their return, but the sudden laughter and chatter was enough to drive her back up to her dorm where it was much quieter. 

"How was your Christmas, Amora?" Hannah beamed. 

"It was great, thank you, Hannah," Amora replied truthfully. "How was yours?"

"Amazing! Look at the ring that my mother bought me!"

Amora spent the next half an hour or so gushing over her friends' new presents and catching up with them all. When she was sure she had been there for a polite amount of time, the brunette snuck away, out of the dorms and to the Gryffindor tower. She had some apologising to do. Apologies to make that should have been made ages ago. 

It was funny really, because she had been doing the exact same thing this time last year. On the first day back at school, she'd used her first chance to go to find Harry to apologise for kissing him under the mistletoe. Now, a year later, it seemed as though she couldn't learn from her mistakes. She'd never made it to Harry last time, though, because Draco had stopped her before she could get there. 

Draco didn't pop out of nowhere to drag her to some abandoned corridor this time. 

Amora made it to the Gryffindor common room and snuck in behind a couple of second years, finding all of the Gryffindors moving about and greeting each other. She moved up to the boys' dorm, knocking on it and pushing it open. Harry was lying on his bed, Ron leaning against one of the posters and talking to him. Seamus and Dean were talking in the corner, Neville nowhere to be seen yet. All of their eyes widened on her. 

"Hi guys," Amora greeted them all with a small smile. "Good Christmas?"

She received a general consensus of yes.

"Something you need, 'Mora?" Ron asked, smirking. 

Amora inwardly groaned. She prayed Ron hadn't been filling Harry with false hope over the Christmas holidays. She'd told him when they kissed that she didn't like him the same way he liked her, and he seemed okay with it, but Hermione had shone a new perspective on things and now Amora just needed confirmation. 

"I would like to talk to Harry, yes," Amora forced her smile. 

Harry scrambled up from his bed and followed Amora out into the small corridor, closing the door behind him. "Yes?"

"We are okay, right?" Amora asked him worriedly. "I feel like I'm rubbing it in your face at this point, but I got a bad feeling. I don't want to ruin our friendship, Harry... I don't want you to feel led on."

Harry's smile faltered a little but he nodded. "Yeah, yeah. I understand. Crystal clear."

"And it can't happen again," Amora swallowed. "I can't lead you on or hurt you. I don't want to be that person, Harry. I really don't."

"Amora, I went in for that second kiss knowing you didn't kiss me the first time for the same reason I was kissing you," Harry breathed, "You're not that person."

I am. Merlin, I am.

"Okay," she mumbled anyway. "Okay... I just... Don't want to lose you, okay?"

Harry gave her a lopsided smile as he tilted his head to the side a little, chuckling. "You won't lose me, Amora..." Harry shook his head in amusement. 

"You promise?"

"I promise." 

Amora left the Gryffindor tower feeling slightly better in herself. Pansy had made her feel like a normal teenage girl for the past three weeks, she'd helped her forget all about her boy troubles which had been escalating out of control before the break. She was on the road to making a recovery. 

So long as Harry understood they were just friends and she promised herself to never use him again, all she had to do now was move on from Draco. It was a lot easier said than done, especially when she had liked him for over a year now and been in love with him since June last year. 

January was bleak and depressing, but the students made it feel slightly warmer. They were bustling all around Amora, greeting their friends and laughing as they tried to get to their common rooms. Amora was already dreading the school year continuing, what with Umbridge still in place as the High Inquisitor. Over Christmas, Amora hadn't seen Dumbledore once. It almost felt like he was giving into her. 

It was another reason Amora felt concerned for her mother. If Dumbledore couldn't even defend his position as headmaster, how was he supposed to defend her mother and keep her safe from all of the Pureblood supremacists and Death Eaters sending her threats? 

Hogwarts was supposed to be the safest place to be, but her cousin had died under Dumbledore's watch. Their first year Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher had been aiding Voldemort, and so had their fourth year one-- both teachers Dumbledore had welcomed into his school. Amora couldn't help but not put her full trust in him like Harry tended to. 

If anything, Amora was more in favour of Professor Snape right now, and that was saying a lot. She didn't like him at all, but she had to admit that his idea of her mother quitting her role at Hogwarts sounded the safest bet. Amora could also see her mother's argument, though. 

Children needed to be educated on Muggles so they didn't end up like their parents. It wasn't a compulsory subject, however, so those who really needed to hear it probably never would... 

Like Draco.

Draco was across the corridor from her, his briefcase in his hand as he shoved Theo's shoulder with a scowl on his face. Amora noticed how he seemed paler and thinner than the last time she'd seen him, but only ever so slightly. The laughter of Blaise and Theo didn't even make the corners of his lips twitch upwards like it normally did. He looked as exhausted as Amora had before the Christmas break. 

He still looked handsome though. 

Amora pushed the thought out of her head. It was thoughts like that which would cause her to relapse and fall for him all over again. It took all her might to not stare an extra second, but she turned on her heel and moved away from Draco, Theo, and Blaise. 

To turn away from something that could have been, but also something she wouldn't let tear her apart anymore. 

D.M + A.B

"Did you have a good Christmas, my darling?"

Amora beamed at her mother as she moved across the empty Muggle Studies classroom and wrapped the woman into a hug in response. Professor Buckley hugged back immediately, stroking her daughter's hair until she pulled away. 

"It was really good," Amora replied, "I sent you a letter, remember?"

"Of course I do," Professor Buckley said, "I just thought I would ask in person too. It costs nothing to be polite."

"Yeah, I sent a letter to father too, but he never replied," Amora added, quieter this time. 

Professor Buckley paused from where she had turned to shuffle some books on her desk. She placed them down and then turned around to face Amora, a small frown on her face. 

"He didn't?"

"No," Amora said, "In fact..." She felt herself getting choked up a little but swallowed her emotions. "Father hasn't sent me a letter unless I have sent one first since the second year. Nor has he actually written to me this year at all."

Professor Buckley sighed sadly. "I will talk to him about it, Amora. You know how he is..."

It's not an excuse, Amora thought bitterly. 

Normally it didn't bother her that she wasn't very close to her father, it was something that she had accepted a long time ago. But for him not to reply to her Christmas letter felt like a kick to the stomach, as if she had been rejected. Amora hated the feeling of rejection.

"Your father loves you, you know," Professor Buckley said as if she could read Amora's mind. "Don't turn your nose up. He does. He loves you more than anything."

"He has a funny way of showing it," Amora said bitterly before she could think.

Amora's mother sighed. "He's always been like that. He's a man, Amora. Men don't express emotion like we do."

"But he'll express his anger when I stay up too late reading and wake up tired the next day," Amora snapped, "And that's not even true, mum. He's a man, not a robot. He- He's supposed to be my dad."

"He is your dad," Professor Buckley huffed, "Don't be silly. I can write to him and ask him to make more of an effort. He probably doesn't even realise that he's doing it. But I can assure you he loves you. He just can't verbalise it like most do."

Amora just shook her head. She had nothing to say. She thought her mother was being ridiculous for defending her father. 

"I'm telling the truth," Her mother continued, "He was disappointed that you didn't come home for Christmas. And he may not be too affectionate or generous with hugs- " - Amora scoffed because the only time she got a hug was when she left for Hogwarts each summer, and even then it was short and awkward- "- But he shows it in others ways. Like how he works every single day to put a roof over our heads, how he works tirelessly to keep the beach looking clean and how he helps pay for your school uniform and all of your belongings."

Amora was pretty sure that that was what parents were meant to do anyway, but she had nothing else to say yet again. She didn't feel like arguing with her mother over their disagreements about her father, and she knew it would only be like talking to a brick wall anyway.

"Okay," she murmured. 

Amora supposed she'd have to get used to not being loved the way that she wanted to be loved. She settled down into the seat opposite her mother's desk and tried not to remain grumpy, but there was a small crease between her brows.

D.M + A.B

MASS BREAKOUT FROM AZKABAN   
MINISTRY FEARS BLACK IS "RALLYING POINT" FOR OLD DEATH EATERS

The Ministry of Magic announced late last night that there has been a mass breakout from Azkaban. Speaking to reporters in his private office, Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic, confirmed that ten high-security prisoners escaped in the early hours of yesterday evening, and that he has already informed the Muggle Prime Minister of the dangerous nature of these individuals.

"We find ourselves, most unfortunately, in the same position we were two and a half years ago when the murderer Sirius Black escaped," said Fudge last night. "Nor do we think the two breakouts are unrelated. An escape of this magnitude suggests outside help, and we must remember that Black, as the first person ever to break out of Azkaban, would be ideally placed to help others follow in his footsteps. We think it likely that these individuals, who include Black's cousin, Bellatrix Lestrange, have rallied around Black as their leader. We are, however, doing all we can to round up the criminals and beg the magical community to remain alert and cautious. On no account should any of these individuals be approached."

Beneath the article were pictures of the ten Death Eaters who had managed to escape Azkaban's icy grasp, a couple of which Amora somewhat recognised from old newspapers. She shuddered, her whole body feeling like it had been frozen as she stared down at the paper that had landed between her and Hannah that morning on the Hufflepuff table. 

"What the hell?" Kathy muttered from where she was pouring over an identical copy of her own. "How is this even possible? What about the dementors?"

"They must have let them go," Amora said with a grimace. "I mean, look at everybody that broke out! Lestrange, Dolohov, Rookwood... These were all in You-Know-Who's inner circle, were they not?"

"What are you saying?" Leon spoke up, his eyes meeting Amora's neutrally for the first time in a long time. "You think that the Dementors aren't working for the Ministry anymore?"

"Exactly." Amora nodded. "They've switched sides."

Kathy nearly whimpered from beside Leon, moving closer to her boyfriend who wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Amora looked away from them, staring at the moving picture of Bellatrix Lestrange. It was a horrifying sight; a clearly deranged woman screaming and laughing as she was chained to her prison cell in Azkaban. 

It seemed to dawn on her then that Bellatrix was in relation to Draco. She'd been a Black, his mother's sister, so she was his aunt. The thought made Amora feel sick. How could Draco be related to someone who looked so mentally unhinged? Someone as evil enough to be 'convicted of the torture and permanent incapacitation of Frank and Alice Longbottom' it read beneath her photograph. 

But then she supposed that was the majority, if not all, of his family. 

"Look at the Slytherins," Susan hissed quietly from where all of the fifth year Hufflepuffs had formed a circle around the paper, just like most of the other tables were doing with their own. "They look guilty as anything."

Amora dared to glance over her shoulder. Sure enough, some of them did look rather guilty or were glancing around as if they expected to be interrogated any second. She saw Draco's flash of blond hair and watched him spit something at his friends before he was storming out of the Great Hall, fury written all over his face. 

"That's Malfoy's aunt, innit?" Justin pointed at Bellatrix. "He probably knew about it."

"You can't make assumptions like that," Amora snapped without thinking. "I mean... By saying that, you're practically insinuating that him and his family are all in You-Know-Who's inner circle or something."

"Are you joking, Amora?" Zena scoffed, "They're Malfoys. I don't know about Draco, but everybody knows his father wasn't really under the Imperius Curse during the first war. I'm a Muggle-born and I know that!"

"You're not defending the Malfoys, are you?" Justin frowned, another Muggle-born. 

Amora quickly saw where this was heading. "No!" Amora cried, "No, of course not. I despise Lucius Malfoy as much as everybody else, but I just think that we shouldn't go pointing fingers at Malfoy because he's related to someone who broke out. He's just a kid, like the rest of us... I mean, it's just a really extreme accusation, don't you think?"

"Better to be safe than sorry," Justin huffed, turning back to the paper. "I've never trusted nor liked him. Won't start now."

Amora didn't say anything. Part of her regretted speaking up on behalf of Draco, especially after the way that he had been treating her recently. But she was working on putting him in the past, and that meant working on forgiving too. Not that she would ever forget. 

D.M + A.B

"Hey, Pans," Amora gave the ebony-haired girl a half smile as she approached her in the corridor. 

"Amora." Pansy nodded back in greeting. "I take it you saw the article?"

"Who hasn't?" Amora murmured, "It's all everybody's been talking about all day."

It was true. Amora couldn't go to a single class or turn a corner without catching a glimpse of the headline or hearing someone whisper in fear about what that meant for them. More and more people were beginning to believe Harry now. The last period had only just ended and Seamus had already apologised to him and said he believed him now. 

Personally, Amora was terrified for her mother more than anything. With Death Eaters like Lestrange on the run, Amora could only hope that attacking the Muggle Studies teacher and one of the biggest blood traitors to the Sacred Twenty-Eight wasn't high on their list of priorities. 

And then that got Amora thinking too. Say they did have a list of priorities, say Voldemort hadn't ordered them out just to build his army, was he conspiring something big? Was something going to happen soon? 

People who hadn't believed that a war was coming certainly did by the end of the afternoon. Everything felt ten times more real now that people knew some of the most dangerous wizards of their time were out and about, possibly closer than they thought. 

"I didn't know it was going to happen," Pansy blurted, looking nervous. 

Pansy rarely looked nervous. It filled Amora with a sense of discomfort. 

"Hm?" Amora frowned, pausing in her tracks as her brows furrowed. "Why are you telling me that?"

"Because everybody keeps looking at us like we're the ones that broke out, but I swear on my own life, Amora, I had no idea that this was happening," Pansy swore, "I may not be too... fond of Muggle-borns, but I'm not like my parents. I'm no Death Eater."

"I know," Amora breathed, releasing a humourless chuckle. "Pans... Were you scared I would be mad at you?"

Pansy rolled her eyes. "Ugh, maybe. I don't know. I just don't want you to think of me like that."

"I don't think of you like that," Amora said sternly, "Besides, you've been with me all Christmas and you don't even talk to your parents anymore."

Pansy flinched. 

"Sorry!" Amora blurted, her face falling. "That came out so casually, but I didn't mean it like that. I- I just meant---"

"I know," Pansy breathed with a smile, placing her hand on Amora's arm. "Stop worrying about hurting my feelings. I don't know what prissies you used to hang around with, but I don't easily take offence. I have thick skin."

"Yeah, but everybody has a breaking point," Amora hummed, ignoring the jab at her friends. "I don't know where yours is and I don't plan on hurting you to find out."

Pansy gave Amora a pointed look. "You're gross. You and your... overly kindness."

"No, you're gross," Amora protested, but it just made the two girls laugh. 

D.M + A.B

"The next Hogsmeade trip is on Valentine's Day."

Draco glanced up from where he was doing his last minute Potions essay, finding Theo already looking straight up at him from across the coffee table they sat around in the Slytherin common room. Blaise's head perked up in interest too, looking between them like he was excited for what was to come. 

It made Draco roll his silver eyes. "And? You're telling me this, why?"

"Because isn't that the perfect time to win Amora back?" Theo shot him a look. "Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop will be open and everybody knows it's where all the couples go. It would be romantic or whatever. Girls dig that shit, and Amora wouldn't be able to resist you if you tried making it up to her."

"One, I have never said that I was going to try and win Buckley back," Draco sneered, "Two, I have far bigger concerns like that fucking article the Daily Prophet put out, and three, I would never take her to Madam Puddifoot's... That's so basic. It's probably the reason you've been with your girlfriend for over a year and not shagged yet."

Theo scoffed loudly. "Actually, that's because she wants to wait. What was your excuse for not shagging Buckley in the almost-year you were messing around for? Too embarrassed of your pant-size, Malfoy?"

Draco's brows narrowed. "Not at all..." He said slowly. 

"Jesus fucking Christ..." Blaise muttered under his breath, shaking his head. "Is this about to turn into an actual dick measuring competition?"

"Let's hope not," Pansy quipped, coming seemingly out of nowhere. "I think I'd throw up if I saw either of your dicks."

"Yeah, 'cause you're a fucking lesbian," Theo huffed, clearly hurt. "Anybody would be lucky to see mine."

"I didn't know lucky was a synonym for scarred for life," Pansy hummed, dropping into the seat on the couch beside Blaise, propping her feet up onto the coffee table, her heels resting on Draco's book.

He swatted them off and tugged his Potions book out. "Watch it," he hissed. 

"Your book was in the way of my feet," Pansy shrugged. 

Draco's pale face was practically red with rage. "No, your feet were on my book!" He huffed, "Merlin, Parkinson. Since hanging around Buckley you've become even more unbearable."

"I think it's funny," Blaise inputted with a sly smirk.

Draco had enough. Blaise and Pansy could barely contain their snickers as they watched him stand up from where he had been doing his work, slam his Potions book closed and grab his essay. He didn't even bother with his quill or inkpot. Nobody would touch it anyway, considering it had been branded with his surname.

"I hope you all die," Draco said before heading for the dormitories. 

Pansy was practically red in the face from laughing so hard. "The best part is that he's serious," she cackled, holding her stomach. 

"He's been so foul since he broke up with Amora," Theo grumbled, rolling his eyes. "I swear, if I even breathe too loud the vein in his forehead nearly bursts."

Blaise nodded in agreement as he and Pansy calmed down. "We've been back for a week and he's already yelled at three first years."

"I don't think he yelled at a single one when he was with Amora," Pansy muttered, "He was so much more carefree... Less stuck up. I mean, he was still a complete dickhead, but just... more bearable. And Amora-- she was so much brighter with him. I think she's doing way better this term already, but she just isn't the same."

There was a small silence after Theo and Blaise made their murmurs of agreement. 

"You know what this means, right?" Pansy quirked her brows up. 

"What?" Blaise frowned. 

"If they won't get back together naturally, we're just gonna have to show them why they fell in love in the first place," Pansy said.

"When did it start again?" Theo's brows knitted together. 

"In the library."

...


	59. Chapter 59

The end of January was approaching. Amora didn’t think February was much better if she was being honest, but at least it was a step closer to warmer weather. She wondered what this summer would look like and imagined herself with Pansy whenever they weren’t sitting O.W.L exams, probably on the field, Pansy preserving her icy skin beneath a tree whilst Amora sprawled her body out on the grass, trying to feel warm and golden. 

In an ideal world, Amora’s other friends would be there too. She shook her head at the idea of Harry and the others getting along with Pansy. It was a comedic vision — Hermione and Pansy would definitely despise each other. 

“What you thinking of?” Pansy asked, shutting her book from where they sat at the back of the library. 

Their table was surrounded by stacks of books among other things. They had a Herbology mock exam in two days, so the pair were trying to cram as much in as they could. 

Professor Sprout had warned that those who failed the mock would have to attend hour-long revision sessions every Saturday morning to catch up before their O.W.L.s. Her threat certainly had people revising. 

“Not much,” Amora hummed, “Have you almost finished with your revision yet? The library will be closing soon and I’m knackered.”

“Almost,” Pansy huffed, picking up her quill and writing something on her parchment. “You should be revising too, you know.”

“I know, but I’m too tired right now,” Amora admitted, resting her cheek on her palm and yawning. “I shouldn’t have had those cuppas with my dinner. They make me sleepy every time.”

That was partly why she had drank so much though. The stress of O.W.L.s was ever so slightly creeping up on her and keeping her awake longer than she should be. Careers meetings would be coming up soon and Amora wasn’t sure what career path she even wanted to take. She was only fifteen — how was she supposed to pick?

“Well you banging on about how tired you are is making me tired, so pack it in, will you?” Pansy scolded half-heartedly. “Or take a nap. I’ll wake you up when I’m done.”

“Doesn’t…” Amora’s eyes fluttered shut, feeling like her body was shutting down already. “Sound like a bad idea…”

Her dreams were plagued with Cedric. Not an odd occurrence since she stopped taking Dreamless Sleep at the start of the year, but they were much less horrific than you would think considering she had cradled his dead body in front of the entire school for two minutes last year. 

They were in the sea. Waves were coming towards them. They were both younger; Cedric about twelve or thirteen whilst Amora was ten. Their laughs echoed above the screeching seagulls swarming around them, Cedric’s hand reaching out to grab hers. Amora laughed as she felt the wave sway through them, their jump causing them to bob high up. For a moment it almost felt like they were flying. The waves were only getting bigger and bigger; taking them higher and higher. 

Amora never wanted to leave. Or rather, she didn’t want Cedric to leave her again. 

But banging woke her up. 

The first thing Amora noticed was that she was cold and it was dark, a huge contrast to the dream she’d just had. In fact, her body was trembling in her seat as she raised her head from her arms, blinking herself into a much bleeker reality. Immediately she began to hug her arms, her last memories of consciousness coming back to her. 

Pansy! 

Pansy had said that she would wake her up before she left. 

“Hello?” A familiar voice yelled, followed by more bangs against a rattling door. “Somebody’s bloody in here! Let me out!”

Draco fucking Malfoy.

Suddenly everything made sense. Pansy’s out of character admancy to go to the library and revise, how she’d begged to sit as far away from Madam Pince as possible, and the way she had encouraged Amora to take a nap... This had been a plan, an advanced plan to lock her in the library overnight with Draco for a second time.

All of a sudden, Amora wanted to wrap her hands around Pansy’s neck and squeeze the life out of her. Then she’d move onto Theo and Blaise. No doubt were the two of them involved in this too. 

Amora rose from the desk. Everything had been packed away and her bag was gone too-- including everything inside it. Her wand, her robe, her school jumper… 

Pansy really had planned this out to the T. Amora wasn’t sure whether to be enraged or slightly impressed. Perhaps a little bit of both.

“Hello?” Amora called, her heart thumping out of her chest as she felt around in the darkness, trying to get to the end of the aisle she’d been in. 

The banging on the door ceased and everything was silent for a moment. “Amora?” Draco called incredulously. 

Amora sighed loudly. “Yes. Where are you? I can’t - I can’t see anything.”

“By the door. Obviously.”

Yeah, Amora really hated Pansy Parkinson. 

She rolled her eyes despite the fact that he couldn’t see her. “Yeah, I know that, but I’m literally in complete darkness over here! Pansy has my wand, I can’t see anything.” 

There was a moment of silence. “I’ll come to you, okay?” Draco called, “Keep talking so I can follow your voice.”

“You know what? Maybe you should just stay over there and I’ll stay here. It will save us having to talk to each other for the rest of the night, which I’m sure will be just as frustrating for you as it will be for me,” Amora huffed, “And then, when morning comes, we can both leave separately, continue with our separate lives, and then I can personally find Pansy Parkinson, get my wand back, and hex her over and over again until —”

A small ball of light could be seen heading towards her through spaces in the bookshelves. “Keep talking,” Draco ordered. 

Amora ignored him but began to head over, moving closer and closer until she could see his pale face being illuminated by the light coming from his wand. Draco jumped when he saw her come around the corner of one of the aisles, his silver eyes enlarging on her. She shot him a pursed-lipped smile, one that was far from sincere. 

“Did you have any idea about this?” Draco seethed. 

“Do I look like I had any idea about it?” Amora raised an eyebrow at him. “And don’t talk to me like that or when I’m done with Pansy, I’ll find you and hex you after.”

Draco looked amused at best. He knew her threats were empty and that Pansy probably wouldn’t even face the consequences, but he had to admit that he couldn’t be bothered to keep up the furious act with her. Especially when she was shivering as badly as she was, her hands rubbing up and down her arms in an attempt to keep her warm. 

Both of them were too stubborn though. They knew why Pansy had taken all of Amora’s belongings, including her jumper. This was an attempt to get them to reenact the first time they had been locked in the library overnight, but neither wanted to really play into it. 

Amora clicked her fingers in front of Draco’s face. “Earth to Malfoy? How did you even end up in here?”

“Fell asleep, didn’t I?” Draco huffed, “And I’m guessing you did too, judging by the way half of your face is red.”

Amora’s hand smoothed out her cheek which had been planted on her arms. She sighed and glanced around them as Draco used his wand to light up some of the lights around them. The library glowed dimly, enough so that Draco didn’t have to use his wand anymore. 

“Nox,” he muttered, shoving it away into his robe pocket.

“So we’re really locked in here?” Amora scowled slightly. “Together?”

Draco rolled his eyes. “What’s with the pessimism, Buckley? Not like you to be so grouchy.”

Amora gave him the fakest, most exaggerated smile she could muster. “Oh, right! Of course. Silly me. I forgot that I’m a Hufflepuff so I should be making the most of the situation right now, right? I should be smiling and dancing and trying to make you feel better. Merlin, how could I be so stupid to forget?”

“I meant because you’re Amora,” Draco growled, “Not because you’re a Hufflepuff. And I’m not appreciating your sudden sarcasm.”

“Well suck it up, Malfoy. In case you forgot, the last time we spoke, you called me a blood traitor, said Daphne Greengrass was a better kisser than me, But and implied that I was a whore for kissing Harry,” Amora seethed, “So forgive me for not wanting to be around you right now.” 

Draco swallowed harshly. Amora could see contemplation swimming around in his silver eyes, like he was wondering whether or not he should say whatever was on his mind. Perhaps he was brewing up yet another insult that would make her insecure or the next week or two, or maybe he was just trying to remember a good enough spell to hex her with. 

“Leave me alone, Malfoy,” Amora said, “I mean it. I don’t care if we’re stuck in here because our friends want us back together. You don’t want me, I don’t want you. So I’m going to spend the rest of my night reading and you’re going to… I don’t know, think about how much you love yourself or something.”

She didn’t give him a chance to speak but moved away, doing exactly as she said she would. She moved across the library to the fiction section, her eyes scanning all of the colourful spines of the books. Amora was shivering in the cold but refused to ask for any help from Draco. She’d rather be found in the morning frozen and blue. 

She didn’t know what he was doing, but she didn’t hear a thing from Draco for the next hour. Amora was curled up on the ground, trying to pay attention to the book she had chosen and ignore the rattling of her teeth and the way she could barely feel her fingers as she turned each page. Amora was so cold she nearly considered tearing down one of the curtains and wrapping it around herself. 

After a while of reading, she gave up, placing the book next to her and cupping her mouth with her hands. She blew her breath into them, hoping to warm them up. It worked ever so slightly, but it wasn’t enough. She thanked Merlin she was wearing tights this time around since it was late January, but at the same time cursed herself for putting her jumper and robe on the back of her chair whilst she half-studied with Pansy. 

“You should just ask.”

Amora jumped, her head whipping upwards to see Draco standing at the end of the aisle she was down. His robe was curled up in his arm, as if to mock her. Biting down on her lip, Amora stared back at him for a few moments before grabbing her book again and making a point of ignoring him. 

He sighed loudly. “It’s January. Much colder than the last time we were in here.”

“Yeah, I’ve noticed,” Amora said, her voice trembling a little bit from the lack of warmth. 

“Why are you on the floor? Heat travels up. You’d be warmer sitting at the desk,” Draco said, jerking his head towards the one down the aisle she was in. 

Amora glared at the words in her book, ignoring him. Part of her wanted him to force her to just wear the robe he had in his arms, but she knew it wouldn’t work like that. Amora wasn’t going to beg, though. Draco himself had taught her not to beg for forgiveness or things from people. To not be a pushover or weak. 

Draco must have got the memo that she wasn’t going to reply. She heard him release another heavy sigh before his footsteps retreated, leaving her all alone. Amora waited a few moments before she glanced up to the spot where he had been. Her eyes narrowed on the desk he’d been referring to, or more specifically the robe that was flung over the back of the chair beside it. 

Her stubbornness scolded her. Told her to leave it there and not give in like Draco obviously wanted her to. But she was so cold to the point where her hands were beginning to hurt. Amora glanced left and right, making sure Draco definitely wasn’t watching before she stood and headed over to his robe.

She slid it on, the material cold against her for a few moments before she began to feel warmer. The sleeves fell past her hands and it was longer than her own, the material touching the ground. Amora hugged it around herself as she moved back to her space, bunching it up as if it was a blanket.

The brunette swallowed harshly at the scent it carried. Draco’s cologne and his apple shampoo. It brought back so many intense memories of being in his arms or having his lips on hers. It made her stomach do flips, her eyes threatening to sting with unwanted tears. They didn’t though. She couldn’t cry — not when Draco was somewhere in the same room. 

After a while, Amora wasn’t shaking anymore. Her head rested against one of the bookshelves, her eyes flickering shut as she began to warm up. Amora prepared for the humiliation she would feel when Draco eventually came back around and saw her wearing his robes, but tried to dismiss the thought as much as she could. 

Her hand absentmindedly skimmed the badge that was pinned to it. A green crest with ‘PREFECT’ written on it. It was shiny, most likely having been polished recently, and in perfect condition. She moved her hands to the pockets of the robe for extra warmth, her fingers coming into contact with something small and cold. 

Amora pulled out a small golden badger. 

Her heart did a leap and she jammed it back into the pocket without thinking, her head in a frenzy as she wondered why on earth he was still carrying it around with him. It was the only thing in his pockets aside from a piece of thread and a Galleon coin. 

“Warm now?” Draco’s voice came from the end of the aisle like before. 

Amora nodded but didn’t bother thanking him. After all, it was the least he could do after insulting her so badly before the Christmas break. 

She expected him to leave her alone again, to go back to wherever he had been for the last hour and a half, but instead, Draco moved to sit across from her. He pulled his long legs up, holding his knees slightly and staring directly at her. Amora glared after a few moments. 

“What?” She snapped. 

He sighed. “You really hate me, don’t you?”

“You really hate me, don’t you?” Amora mimicked him, scrunching her nose up. “If that’s your guilt trip tactic, you’re going to have to amp it up a little bit.”

“I’m not trying to guilt you,” Draco scowled, rolling his eyes. “I just-”

“You just weren’t expecting me to be so mean to you?” Amora raised her brows. “Yeah, I suppose you just make me angry.”

There was a long silence. It was nearly agonising. Amora was pretty sure the first time they had been locked in here hadn’t been as awkward as this. She wished that she was wrapped up in her bed, her duvet around her and her pillow beneath her head as she lulled into a warm, comfortable sleep. 

Instead, she was stuck in the cold library with her ex-boyfriend. One she still had feelings for, much to her dismay. 

“I make myself angry too.”

Amora’s head shot up to stare at him. “What?”

“I hate myself,” Draco said, “In fact, I hate everybody at this fucking school. And everybody outside this school too. Everybody. Every -”

“ - charming -” 

“- one except you,” Draco finished, glancing across at her with such sincerity in his silver eyes that Amora felt her stomach do flips. 

“Don’t,” Amora swallowed, “Don’t feed me this bullshit.”

Draco ignored her. “I need to know something. You have to tell me the truth. I was sitting with my mother on Christmas Day and I told her about you. Told her what a complete fucking arsehole I had been and how I had fucked everything up so badly that I was pretty sure I had gone past the point of return. But she told me something. My mother told me that when love is authentic, it has no expiry date. And then she told me to have some courage. So I need to ask you- I have to ask you if you still love me?”

Amora could feel her heart pounding roughly against her ribcage. She felt like her bones were going to snap, like her eyes were going to stream with tears and like she was about to start kicking and punching at him and screaming. Her throat was tight, her jaw trembling a little, but not because she was cold this time. 

She was so furious with him. 

“Would you like me to confess for a second time so you can mock me once again?” Amora gritted her teeth, starting to stand up. “It’s not going to happen, Malfoy.”

Draco scrambled up after her, his hand reaching to clasp her wrist which she tugged away immediately. “Please. Please, Amora. This is me- This is me this time.”

“I vividly recall you saying that that was the real you on that day,” Amora glared at him, “That I didn’t know you and that you were just a bully.”

“No, no.” Draco shook his head, pausing and closing his eyes as if to recollect himself quickly. “I- Fuck sake, I lied, okay? I lied. I- I was being a coward.”

Amora’s chest was heaving. She wasn’t sure if this was going in the direction that she thought it was going, but if it was then she didn’t think her heart could handle it. After all of these weeks of feeling unloved and rejected, she almost didn’t want to hear it anymore. She’s already started trying to move on. 

“What are you talking about?” She spat, “If… If this is what I think it is, you need to stop, Malfoy. I have too much respect for myself this time. You- You have been so awful to me. So fucking awful. Nobody has ever said so many mean things to me, and coming from you it hurt even worse! You have kept me up for so many fucking nights, you have made me feel sick to my stomach every day, you have made me look in the mirror and wonder what I need to change for you to take back your stupid, insulting fucking words!”

“I didn’t mean to do that to you.” Draco looked wounded, his face nearly crumbling already. 

“Oh, really? What did you mean to do to me when you kissed Daphne Greengrass in front of me -”

“You kissed Potter!” Draco yelled, suddenly red with rage. “You fucking kissed Potter - again! You knew he’s the one - fucking hell - that he’s the one person in this entire fucking school that has something over me. You knew it made me feel like shit when you went to him instead of me after your cousin died or when he knew Umbridge had you cutting your hand before me, but you always told me that he was just a friend - that I had nothing to worry about! And yet you kiss him again. You kissed Potter.”

Amora blinked back tears. “I lied,” she croaked. 

The air went still. Draco’s heavy breathing faded. “What?” He whispered. 

“That day when I told you I had kissed him, I lied to you,” Amora repeated, her throat tight. “You were accusing me of it, so I just played along. Because I wanted to hurt you as badly as you hurt me.”

“You never kissed him?” Draco swallowed. 

Amora couldn’t tell if the expression written across his face was relief, disbelief, regret or all three. 

“After I saw you snog Greengrass in the corridor I did,” Amora admitted, voice wobbly. “I met up with him and… Well, I won’t go into details, but yeah, I did end up kissing him for real after you kissed her.”

Draco looked like he wasn’t sure what to say, his fists clenched by his sides. “So you did kiss him?”

“Because you kissed Greengrass!”

“How was I supposed to know you were lying?” Draco yelled, running a hand through his blond hair. “Merlin’s beard, Amora! Well? Did it make you feel better kissing Potter?”

Amora scoffed. “Oh, shove off, Malfoy. At least I didn’t go bragging about it afterwards. You literally came up to me after to ask if I had been crying in the bathrooms. And then you told me she’s a better fucking kisser than me -”

“To piss you off!” Draco threw his hands in the air. “Because it was the only thing I could say when you were trying to - to unpick at my emotions. I knew it would get you to shut up. Kissing Greengrass was like snogging a fucking fish. But I had to do it. I had to one-up you.”

“It worked,” Amora said numbly, “You hurt me.”

“Well you know what makes you kissing Potter worse?” Draco growled, “Is that you didn’t do any bragging afterwards! What was the point in kissing him if you weren’t going to rub it in my face? Huh? Did you like kissing him? Did you just want to do it?”

“Harry wasn’t bad,” Amora shrugged. 

Draco swallowed harshly. “So you did like it.”

“Stopped me thinking about you and Greengrass for a bit,” the brunette huffed back.

Draco turned away from her. His hair was a mess from running his hand through it. He felt sick at the idea of Amora and Harry together. She must have rushed off to meet him as soon as he’d cornered her after kissing Daphne in front of him. He couldn’t really decide who’s fault it actually was or if they were both idiots. He supposed it was the latter. 

“She’s not a better kisser than you,” Draco said after a few moments. “I should never have said that.”

“There’s a lot of things you should have never said, Draco,” Amora hissed, “And there are a lot of things that I should have never said too.”

“I’m sorry.”

Amora’s brows furrowed. She wondered if she had even heard him right. Draco rarely apologised and even now he looked like he was having a mental conflict with himself, like he didn’t really want to stoop low enough to say sorry. It made Amora scoff and roll her eyes yet again. Probably for the hundredth time that night and not the last. 

“I mean it,” Draco said angrily, moving a step closer to Amora. “Fucking hell, I mean it. I have never been more sorry for anything in my life than for treating you the way that I did after you told me that you loved me. There has not been a single night where you haven’t been the last thing on my mind before I fell asleep, or a single morning where you weren’t the first thing I thought about when I woke up. Being without you has been the most fucking ridiculous thing I have ever had to go through.”

Amora’s heart fluttered but she persisted. She made sure her face was stern, her eyes unforgiving. He would not use a few words and have her suddenly melting back into his arms. This wasn’t how it worked. 

“I know I hurt you that day. I know I hurt you and - and the thought makes me sick to my stomach -”

“You told your mother about me?” Amora cut him off, keeping her chin high. “You said you told your mother about me?”

Draco’s face softened. “Yeah. Yeah, I did. First girl I’ve ever told my mother about. Christmas morning.”

“Why?” Amora demanded. 

“She could tell I was upset. Said I’d seemed like it since November,” Draco went on. “And she worked out it was a girl, I let her figure out who you were. She said you were beautiful, and she’s right, you know.”

“Flattery won’t get you anywhere right now,” Amora said, folding her arms across her chest. Although she had to admit that being called ‘beautiful’ by someone like Narcissa Malfoy was one of the best compliments she’d ever received. 

“And I told her things. Things that you don’t even know,” Draco hesitated, “And she told me about her sister -”

“Bellatrix Lestrange?” Amora thought of the woman who had been in the newspaper the other day with a grimace. 

Draco’s face scrunched up. “No. No, her other sister. Andromeda Black - or Tonks now, I suppose. Shunned from the Black family for choosing love over politics. Something my mother has never forgiven herself for is not defending her sister. Now, she doesn’t even know where she is. Lost her forever. Because of some pureblood superiority complex.”

Amora’s breath hitched a little bit. Where was he even going with this at this point?

“My mother and father chose politics over love. My entire life, I thought relationships were supposed to look like that,” Draco said, shaking his head. “Then I met you, Amora Buckley. You’re not who I should be with, you’re not who I thought I would end up with or who my parents wished for me to have. But you’re everything I could have asked for and more and I wouldn’t change you for the world.”

Tears stung Amora’s eyes. She felt like she was already crumbling beneath his gaze and words. 

“When we first kissed, I was scared. Scared of the butterflies in my stomach and the way my heart skipped a beat. When I admitted to liking you, I was scared too. Asking you out was also pretty terrifying. You scare me with the way you make me rethink everything I’ve ever been taught. I don’t think you realise how the generations and generations of blood purity ideology passed down the Malfoy family has never been so weak, and that’s all because of you,” Draco admitted, “Because you were right the other week when you said I have issues with love. Because my entire life, I’ve been taught politics over love.

“You telling me that you loved me nearly gave me a heart attack. If I had been terrified before, this was a new kind of fear. I thought with politics. I thought I was doing the both of us a favour by cutting it off there. By hurting you and driving you away. You’re stubborn, so I knew I had to hurt you to get you to leave me alone. And it worked. You left me.”

A couple of tears fell down her cheeks. “Draco -”

“Please. Let me finish,” he said and Amora wasn’t sure if it was the lighting or if she could see tears swimming in his silver eyes for the first time ever too. “But even then, that wasn’t the most scared I have ever been. Ask me. Ask me when I was most scared.”

Amora swallowed, wiping some tears with her fingers. “W- When were you most scared?” Her voice was hesitant, barely above a whisper as her heart pounded out of her chest. 

Draco’s hands were shaking. “Now. Right now is the most scared I have ever been.” His voice shook too. “Because I’m about to tell you something I have known for a long time now. Something I’ve been sitting on because I thought it was safest to be like my father, to put politics over love. But I can’t do that anymore. My mother told me to be brave for her, but I’m not doing this for her, not really. I’m doing this for myself, and for us.”

Amora trembled as she waited for his next words. A tear slipped from one of his eyes, heading down his pale cheek. Draco took a deep breath. 

“I’m in love with you, Amora,” Draco confessed, nearly choking in relief once the words were out. “I am deeply, utterly, terrifyingly in love with you. And I am so scared. So scared to give you my heart because I’m scared you might break it, but, honestly, I think you’ve had it for a long time now anyway. I - I’ve fallen in love with the way you always try to see the best in people, with the way you laugh and how you feel against me. I love how you always smell like daisies and taste like honey, how you’re my complete fucking opposite - how you complete me.”

Amora sniffled, wiping her eyes. “Since when?” She wasn’t sure whether to believe him or not, scared this was some big joke. Too good to be true.

“Since the night Cedric passed,” Draco whispered, “When I saw you screaming on the field, when I held you in your arms and wiped your tears… I realised it then. That seeing you in pain hurt me just as bad. That the feeling in my chest couldn’t be anything else but love. And I told you I loved you that night. When you were asleep, when I was sure you wouldn’t hear and I knew I wouldn’t have to deal with the consequences. Because I was a coward.”

“You’re not lying?” Amora whimpered, “B-Because this is a new level of sick and twisted if this is a lie -”

“Amora I have never been so fucking serious about anything in my life,” Draco choked, shaking his head as a couple more tears dropped. “I mean it with every fucking fibre of my being. I - I have just been a coward. My whole life I have been a coward. But I don’t want to be anymore. I want to love you freely. I want to scream it from the top of the fucking Astronomy Tower. I want everyone to know.”

He watched her wipe her eyes. 

“Please,” Draco pleaded in a broken whisper. “Please tell me you still love me too?”

Amora’s copper met his silver. “Deeply… Utterly… Terrifyingly.”

Draco’s mouth dropped in relief and he darted forwards. Amora flung her arms around his neck as his slender fingers scrambled for the back of his robes that she wore. Their lips met in the middle, desperate and honest and everything that they had missed. Amora’s honey taste and Draco’s minty breath were being mixed with the tears that leaked from both their eyes. If there was ever an image of relief, this was it. 

Their lips folded together like puzzle pieces. His nose brushed her soft cheek, his hands on her face, her fingers in his platinum hair. Normally he was cold, but tonight he was so warm. Their bodies pressed together, their eyes long since flickered shut and wet lashes sitting upon cheeks. 

As they pulled away, breathing heavily, Amora saw a stray lash on Draco’s cheekbone. She leaned up, pinching it off his pale skin with her fingers and holding it between them from where their faces were still merely inches apart. 

“I believe the Muggles make wishes on these things,” Amora whispered.

Draco released a breath through his nose, a small smile of amusement tugging at his lips. “I wish for another chance with the girl I’m in love with,” he whispered back. 

Amora’s cheeks felt warm as she smudged it to the end of her fingertip and then blew it away gently. “Wish granted, I reckon.”

Draco laughed, wholly and purely and happily, wrapping his arms around her waist and tugging her from the floor, spinning her around in a circle as he buried his face into her shoulder. Amora giggled too, holding onto him, feeling his oversized robe swishing around her body. He put her back down after a moment, planting a kiss to the end of her nose. 

“I won’t fuck this up,” he whispered, closing his eyes, his hands still on her arms. “I’m going to do everything I can to make sure you know how much this means to me. Even though it still scares me.”

“Draco, you’ll never know how much this means to me,” Amora murmured, her hand moving to stroke his jaw, causing his eyes to flicker open on her. “I think you’re so brave for telling me all of this. I know… I know this isn’t what you’re used to and it’s far from your comfort zone, but believe me when I say it means everything to me. You mean everything to me.”

Draco dipped his head back down into her shoulder, feeling her hands slide up his back. They sort of swayed there in the library, eyes closed. Relishing in each other's words. Playing them on a loop in their brains again and again. Wishing that this would never end. Praying it would never be taken from them. 

“I’ve never seen you cry before,” Amora whispered, cupping his cheek with her hand, her thumb sprawling to wipe away a stray drop clinging to the high rise of his cheekbone. 

“Aren’t you lucky, then?” Draco teased quietly, a faint smile ghosting his features as he brushed the hair out of her face, refusing to take his eyes off of her for a moment. “I can’t remember the last time I cried.”

“Feels good, doesn’t it?” Amora chuckled, “Good stress reliever.”

Draco shrugged. “I can think of better ways to relieve stress,” he murmured, his lips connecting with hers for a second time that night.

Amora swore she would never grow tired of the way Draco’s lips felt against hers. They were soft and fairly plump, like cushions against hers, warm and inviting, like the honey she had every morning. His hand on her cheek was cold, just like they always were, the rings especially chilling, and despite trying to warm up earlier, she wanted his cold hands everywhere. 

One hand gripped her hip through the robes she wore as he backed her up against one of the sturdy bookshelves. Amora felt it collide with her back, digging in slightly as Draco devoured her, kissing her like he was a dying man and she was all the oxygen he had left. His leg slipped between hers, as if to pin her there. Both of them knew that Amora wasn’t going anywhere though. 

When she tugged at his platinum hair, Draco groaned, the vibrations on her own lips making her smile. Draco couldn’t help but grin into the kiss too, their teeth clashing and breaths mingling as they laughed, pulling away from one another. His hand trailed off of her cheek to the back of her head, slender fingers tracing through her thick hair. 

“Maybe we shouldn’t get too carried away in the library,” Amora chuckled breathlessly. “Can you imagine Madam Pince’s face if she ever found out what we did against her precious books?”

“I think students have probably done far worse in here,” Draco said. 

Amora’s eyes widened at his implication. “You… You think?”

“Oh, Amora,” Draco laughed, shaking his head. “Oh my sweet, innocent Amora.”

The brunette scowled, playfully wacking his hand away as he moved to teasingly grab her chin. “I am not innocent,” Amora proclaimed, “I just… Wasn’t aware of this particular location.”

Draco raised his brows but decided to brush off the joke. “You are quite oblivious, aren’t you?”

Amora pursed her lips. “Yes, yes. One of my few flaws.”

“I don’t know if you’re starting to sound more like me or Pansy every single day,” Draco remarked. 

Amora beamed. “Both of you. Don’t look at me like that - you and Pansy are far more alike than you would both care to admit.” 

Draco just hummed in response, fiddling with the robes she was wearing. His slender fingers skimmed up the green lining, smoothing it out slightly across her collarbones. She was swamped by his clothing, looking almost like a first year who had failed to show up to their fitting appointment before September first. 

Amora noticed what he was doing and slid her hand down into the pocket. She watched Draco’s eyes enlarge as she produced the small golden badger in the centre of her palm. His fingers moved to brush it, flipping it over so that it was the right way round rather than facing towards her hand. 

“I have never stressed so much over a birthday present before,” Draco admitted quietly, “No matter how collected your birthday letter accompanying it may have sounded.”

The brunette blinked as he gently grasped her fingers and closed them around the badger, just like she had done to him when she gave it back a few weeks ago. Amora glanced back up at him, finding his silver eyes already watching her. 

“Will you keep it again?” Draco asked. 

“I’m sorry,” Amora breathed guiltily, “I shouldn’t have -”

“Don’t apologise,” Draco ordered her firmly, “I deserved it. In fact, I deserved the slap you tried to give me that day too. Just… Just promise that, unless I royally fuck up again, you will always keep it with you.”

Something twinkled in Amora’s eyes. “Always. I promise.”

And so they settled down. Side by side on the floor of the library, coincidentally in the exact same spot they had been in over a year ago. Draco wrapped his arm around her shoulder, bringing her in close so she rested in the crook of his arm and chest. Her legs moved to drape over his lap, almost like he was cradling her, but they provided him warmth too. His large hand rubbed up and down her tights, his lips moving to kiss her forehead. 

In the morning, Pansy, Theo, and Blaise would come and find them. But until then, they were going to do their penguin thing.


	60. Chapter 60

Draco was the first to wake. His back ached from leaning against the bookshelves all night, a rather huge contrast to the comfortable mattress he had back in his dormitory room, and he was slightly chilly in just his school jumper. Looking down and finding Amora curled up to him, her face relaxed and her body warm in his robes, he decided that it was worth it though.

The blond boy wasn't sure if he was waking up due to the ache in his spine or because it was seven in the morning - his usual rising time on a school day. If the latter was the case, then he knew that Madam Pince would be here any moment to open the doors to the library. He didn't feel like getting into trouble, even if - yet again - it wasn't really his fault for being stuck in here overnight anyway.

"Amora," Draco whispered, one of his slender fingers moving to glide some hair out of her eyes. "Time to wake up."

He saw her nose crinkle a little bit, her eyelids flutter. He stroked up and down her arm comfortingly, gently lulling her out of her sleep. A small whimper left her mouth as her legs, which had been curled on his lap, straightened out and she sat up straight, feeling all of her bones click.

"Morning," Amora mumbled sleepily, wiping her eyes.

He chuckled at her, sitting up properly now that she was no longer against him. "Morning to you too. Sleep well?"

The brunette ran her fingers through her slightly frizzy hair, sending him a raised brow. "My arse has gone numb."

Draco grinned, shaking his head. "So angelic." He climbed up off of the ground, reaching his hand out for her to take. "But, yeah. Mine too."

"That's me..." Amora yawned, "Angelic."

She giggled as she reached up, her much smaller hand slipping into his. Draco pulled her up off of the floor, her tired limbs underestimating the strength of his grasp and causing her to stumble into his body. His laugher vibrated through his chest and against Amora's cheek from where she was pressed against it, making her smile. She'd wake up a thousand times on the hard library floor if it meant hearing that laugh.

"For a split second, when I woke, I was scared last night had been a dream," Amora admitted as she pulled away from him, his hands still on her.

A sort of sadness flickered through Draco's eyes. "Well it wasn't. Last night was real. The realest, in fact," he said sternly, watching Amora's beam brighten.

Then, just like last time, there was a clicking at the library door. Multiple locks could be heard turning before what must have been magic gilded both huge oak doors forward, a small gust of wind breezing all the way to the back where they were. Amora's eyes widened, but Draco was quick to press his index finger to her lips before she could gasp.

He sent her a small smirk. "I think we know how to get out of this one."

Amora smirked back, shooting up her brows at him. He grabbed her hand, their fingers intertwining. Amora hadn't realised exactly how much she had missed doing these small things with him until now that she finally had him back. It had been an extremely long two months without Draco. Amora was sure she could find it in her to forgive him, but she would never ever forget some of the things he had said to her. Whether he said them out of fear or not, Amora knew better than to let him off the hook so easily.

They moved around the perimeter of the library, all the way towards the front where they hid behind some bookshelves. Amora shifted some books aside silently so she could see Madam Pince, her figure too short to see through the gap Draco was watching her through. The old librarian was by the desk, shuffling through some paperwork as she began to set up for the day.

Amora grabbed a book from the shelf for him to distract Madam Pince with, handing it to Draco. He waved his wand, whispered a quick, "Wingardium Leviosa" beneath his breath, and watched as it rose high into the air, over the aisles and to the other side of the library.

"Now," Amora whispered.

Draco swished his wand and the book dropped from twenty feet in the air, slamming down onto the other side of the room and echoing loudly. Madam Pince's eyes widened, her entire body freezing in shock before she looked furious, taking off in the direction that the noise had come from.

"Quick!" Draco laughed, grabbing her hand again and leading her straight out of the doors.

Amora and Draco made it out of the library and further down the corridor, ending up by a staircase. They laughed like last time, shaking their heads. Amora wasn't sure if she was still going to kill Pansy or not, seeing as her plan had actually worked. Maybe she would thank her and then kill her.

Amora felt Draco whack her arm, causing her to glance up. Pansy herself was coming down the corridor with Blaise and Theo in tow, confirming Amora's previous suspicions that they had something to do with it. She saw Draco's stone cold expression and realised what the look in his eye had been about so she mimicked his appearance, stepping away from him.

"Well?" Pansy smirked, shoving Amora's belongings into her arms as Amora glared at her.

"I really do hate you, Parkinson," Draco said, "That was unbearable."

Theo and Blaise exchanged worried glances.

"Yes! Absolutely ridiculous," Amora added, "What on earth made you think that that was a good idea?"

Theo looked extremely guilty. "Guys -"

"Oh, really?" Pansy raised a perfectly arched brow. "Is that why you're currently in a robe that is A, far too big for you, and B, not yellow but green?"

Amora's eyes dropped down to Draco's robe and she blushed. Draco smiled but rolled his eyes, watching as the brunette slipped off his robe and handed it to him, leaving her in her school shirt and golden tie. She pulled on her own robe. Draco thought she looked amazing in yellow, with the way it brought out the mahogany of her hair and the bits of green hidden in her brown eyes, but he was a sucker for Amora in green.

Blaise and Theo looked at each other again, clearly confused.

"Oh, fucking hell! How thick are you two?" Pansy scolded, flicking the side of Blaise's head since he was closest. "How did you not even notice?"

Blaise shrugged, sending Pansy a glare as he rubbed his face. "I don't know! I don't really pay attention to what Amora wears..."

"So it did work then?" Theo grinned excitedly between them both.

Draco sighed and rolled his eyes. "Yes, it worked, you arseholes. But that doesn't mean we aren't furious with you."

Pansy rolled her eyes right back at him. "Oh shut it, Malfoy. You're so dramatic and for what? You got Amora back, now you can stop acting like a prick, and you -" Pansy turned to face Amora who raised her brows. "- can stop daydreaming every five minutes when I'm trying to tell you something."

Amora blushed a little bit more, shaking her head at her friend. "No, I am still annoyed. You took my bloody jumper, Pans! I was freezing my arse off -"

"Well that was all part of the plan, wasn't it?" Pansy grinned, "Draco gave you his robes, you huddled together for warmth, therefore making your bond so much more stable! I didn't trust that Draco could woo you back with just his words alone. He's pretty bad at talking about how he feels."

There was a warm feeling inside Amora's chest as she smiled slightly. "Well, I don't think the jumper thing was necessary. And, actually, Draco did manage to 'woo me' with his words."

Blaise looked impressed, nodding at Draco. Draco ignored his friend, sighing heavily and placing his large hand on Amora's shoulder.

"I don't particularly want to talk about this with you three," Draco said, "So if all is well, I need to take a shower before classes start and get my books for the day."

"Me too," Amora said.

"Alright, alright," Pansy huffed, watching as they began to walk away. "I'm owed a mention in your vowels when you get married, though!"

Draco nearly choked whilst Amora burned bright red, the two of them speeding up down the corridor.

"She's insane," Amora chuckled awkwardly, hoping he wouldn't freak out at the mention of something as big as marriage.

"Yes," Draco agreed, "I would never mention her in our wedding vowels."

Amora's heart fluttered. She was still so, so young and she didn't want to marry for years and years yet, but the thought of having a future with Draco after Hogwarts made her heart soar and caused butterflies to erupt in her stomach. And the fact that he was talking about it - yes, perhaps in a joking manner - made her want to giggle like a schoolgirl and run away to tell anybody that would listen.

"Wait." Draco grabbed her wrist before they could part ways. "Thank you. For another chance. I don't deserve it, but -"

"I wouldn't give you another chance if I didn't think you deserved it, Draco," Amora reminded him softly, "Do not get it twisted, some of the comments you made were out of hand, like the blood traitor one and the one about Greengrass being a better kisser..." Her nose crinkled. "But I'm willing to work it out with you. Because I love you."

Draco's tongue darted out to wet his lips at her words. She'd implied she still loved him yesterday, but those three words hadn't escaped her lips since the first time she confessed and he rejected her. Draco wasn't sure how three small words could make him feel like he was on top of the world. This was far, far better than receiving the latest broom or seeing Potter get a detention from Snape...

"I love you," Draco murmured back, "And I'm going to do better. I- I'm going to do my best to make sure you know that I'm sorry."

"I believe you..." Amora admitted, her hand moving to stroke the golden badger on her tie. "But I'm worried if I forgive you too easily..."

"You think I'll do it again," Draco finished for her, looking a little stung but at the same time understanding. "For the record, Amora, I have no reason to drive you away again. But you're being smart; I understand. I half-expected you to be as stubborn as you were with Leon - to cut me out of your life quickly and completely."

Amora offered him a small smile. "I suppose... I knew deep down you still cared about me, whether that was love or just a strong liking, I didn't know... But no matter how much I tried to hate you, I just couldn't. Leon betrayed my trust completely, I don't believe that's as easily fixed as a broken heart."

Draco's brows furrowed. "How can a broken heart be easier to mend than trust?"

Amora shrugged a little. "Love can be unconditional, trust isn't."

The blond boy looked like he was contemplating her words, his silver eyes soft as he watched her fingers fall away from her tie pin. She leaned up on her toes, giving him a chaste peck on the lips and then headed for the Hufflepuff basement. He watched her walk away until her figure disappeared, and then he moved to Slytherin dungeons where he would finally be able to write to his mother with good news.

D.M + A.B

When Amora crept into her dormitory, she was unsurprised to find that the girls had already all disappeared off to the Great Hall for their breakfast. The brunette chucked all of her belongings onto her bed and slipped off her robe, wincing when she heard something drop and roll onto the ground. Amora kneeled down, patting beneath the bed until Amora's hand landed on a Galleon coin.

To her horror, the coin was slightly warm and the date had changed on it from the last DA meeting the previous week to yesterday's date. January 29th. Today was January 30th, meaning she had managed to miss the meeting. Her heart skipped a beat, guilt seeping from her. She was just glad Pansy hadn't found the coin in her pocket last night and then questioned why it grew hot.

Amora tried to push the guilt away as she climbed into the shower. She was changed and ready at record speed before she slipped on a fresh school shirt and some new tights. Her skirt was slightly crumpled from sleeping in it, but it was nothing a quick ironing charm Amora had learnt from her mother couldn't handle. She slipped her robe back on too and then headed down to the Great Hall, heading straight for the Hufflepuff table.

"Amora!" Kathy greeted her, grabbing her by the arm and then whispering, "Where were you yesterday? Harry wanted to wait for you, but you never came! And you never came back to the dorm either..."

Others were staring at her too, waiting for her explanation.

"And we had prefect duties after that," Ernie frowned.

Amora felt her face grow hot with embarrassment and guilt. "I am so sorry!" She exclaimed truthfully before she began to spin a white lie. "I... Pansy and I were studying for the Herbology exam coming up and I didn't have my robe on, so I didn't feel the Protean Charm warm up on the coin! We both just fell asleep on the couch in the Slytherin common room... I am so sorry, Ernie. I should have remembered! I'm such an idiot -"

"Don't worry about it," Ernie hushed her, waving his hand dismissively. "It's fine. Just don't forget next week, yeah? Walking around Hogwarts alone at night was quite scary. Peeves kept trying to trip me down the stairs..."

Amora frowned deeper. "I promise it won't happen again."

"It's fine, Amora, we were just worried," Kathy said, although she looked slightly suspicious.

Leon was staring silently, as if trying to work out whether or not she was telling the truth. Amora shot him a small glare before grabbing her usual porridge and the jar of honey nearby. She got straight to minding her own business, hoping that nobody else would ask her where she had been last night.

The rest of the week shifted by pretty smoothly. Harry wasn't suspicious at all of Amora's lie, and that seemed to only make her feel more guilty. She couldn't express this to any of her Slytherin friends though, since she had sworn to keep Dumbledore's Army a secret from them. She wished she could tell them though. Somehow she felt more guilty about keeping them in the dark rather than her DA friends.

"I asked Cho to Hogsmeade for Valentine's Day," Harry mentioned quietly, and in Amora's opinion, quite out of the blue from where they had been sitting silently beside each other after she'd come to apologise.

"Oh?" Amora raised her brows in slight interest. "I wasn't aware that you two had anything going on?"

"Well, I always catch her looking at me," Harry admitted bashfully, "And then the other day she told me the trip was on Valentine's Day... basically implied she wanted me to ask her, I think. So I did."

Amora felt a little sorry for Cedric, but it wasn't Cho's fault that she wanted to move on. Besides, Cedric would understand. And Cho seemed like an amazing person who had cared for Cedric deeply, even to this day.

"That sounds lovely, Harry." Amora nodded. "I'm sure you'll both have a brilliant time."

"You're not mad?"

Amora glanced at him incredulously. "Why on earth would I be mad?"

"Because I kissed you two months ago," Harry said, "And I didn't want you to think that I lied about liking you to get a quick snog or anything. I'm - I'm not like that. And I know Cho used to go out with Cedric, which... I don't know."

The brunette felt her heart sink because he was basically insinuating that he wanted her to know that he still liked her. It sunk for that and because she supposed that meant that she was 'like that.' She had kissed Harry knowing he didn't mean anything to her romantically, and then she was confessing her love to his enemy a couple of months later. 

Maybe Harry had been hoping that she would get jealous or admit she liked him by telling her this. 

"I know." Amora reached out and squeezed his hand. "You should go to Hogsmeade with Cho. Like I said, I bet it will be fun. Who knows? You could end up really liking her."

"I think maybe she's only interested in me because she wants to know what happened to Cedric," Harry admitted quietly after a few minutes of more silence. "But you're right - she seems really nice, and she's good at Quidditch, pretty..."

Amora chuckled a little, shaking her head in amusement. "Sounds like a little bit of a crush already."

"I wouldn't call it a crush," Harry muttered, cheeks heating up. "I can just... acknowledge her good qualities, I suppose."

"Ah, I see," Amora hummed, although she didn't quite believe him. "And if she is there only to learn about Cedric... Don't - don't be too harsh on her, Harry. He was probably her first love. To lose someone like that...'' Tears burned her vision. "Oh, gosh!" She laughed bitterly, wiping her eyes. "I haven't cried over Cedric since Christmas!"

It was true that she had cried over Cedric on Christmas Day. Even though she'd been away from home without her entire family, it still felt like it was wrong to not open a present from him or watch him open one back from her. It was her first Christmas without him, but it only really hit her later that night when Pansy had fallen asleep. She'd laid there in her bed, silently crying, wishing her cousin would come back to her.

Harry looked slightly alarmed for a moment before he reached out to pat her back. "It's okay..."

"Sorry, sorry," Amora waved a hand dismissively, but it didn't stop the tears from streaming. "I just... I hate all of this, you know? I feel like I could have done something about it."

Harry frowned. "Amora, there was nothing you could have done..."

"I had a bad feeling before he'd even put his name in that stupid goblet," Amora admitted, harshly wiping the tears off her cheeks. "And then when I was forced under the ice last year, I was so sure that it had something to do with Moody - or Barty Crouch Jr, rather, I suppose - but I brushed it off! And if I hadn't - if I had only done something, he would never have turned that cup into a Portkey and then Cedric wouldn't have died and even You-Know-Who wouldn't be back!"

"Amora!" Harry ordered sternly, pulling her hands away from her face with her wrists. "If you want to blame anyone, you should blame me. I brushed off your concerns about the fake Moody. I should have believed you when you thought he had been the one that had pushed you beneath the ice. But I didn't. And there are so many other things as well that led up to those moments, Amora. If Voldemort hadn't come back then, then it would just have been some other time."

Amora flinched at his use of You-Know-Who's name. She hated it so much - the thought of him simply made her feel sick. He'd already taken from her. He'd taken so much from Harry too.

"You know what?" Amora sniffled angrily. "It's not your fault. It's not even mine, really. It's Professor Dumbledore's."

"Wha-?" Harry gaped at her, brows furrowing in defence.

"He's the one that let Barty Crouch Jr teach here!" Amora cried, "He didn't notice Professor Quirrell acting suspicious in the first year and he hired that liar Lockhart in the second year! I mean, now we even have Umbridge here, and look at what she's doing to this school! And where has he been, hm? I haven't seen him in a long time, he's provided us no comfort! And, I mean, I'm not saying he's evil, but Snape scares people more than he teaches them - and still, Dumbledore just stands up there and gives his silly little speeches and tells us that we'll be fine as long as we're here. But Cedric is proof we're not fine here, Harry! And how long until one of those Azkaban breakouts ends up getting my mother killed for being a Pureblood teaching Muggle Studies?"

Harry looked quite distraught, not knowing what to say. "Amora... That's all out of context..."

"He's supposed to be the smartest, most powerful wizard in the world, Harry," Amora reminded him, "But I don't trust him. Not like you or most people at this school do. I can't. Not when Cedric was let down like that."

"Dumbledore didn't know the cup was a Portkey -"

"But he trusted 'Moody' to put it there. He didn't check. He didn't get anyone to check anything." Amora stood up from the stairs that they had been sat on, shaking her head. "I'm sorry, Harry. I don't think we're going to be able to see eye to eye today. I think I need - I need to go."

"Amora -" Harry reached out and grasped her wrist, stopping her. "I'm not mad at you for not trusting him. I've been angry at him this year, too. He's been leaving me in the dark, getting Ron and Hermione to ignore me all summer... But I don't know. I trust him. It's all for a reason. I know it."

"Good for you," Amora murmured, not a prick of anger or resentment in her tone. "I wish I could trust him. I do. I don't think he's evil or anything, Harry, I just... Not willing to be let down by him."

It seemed like neither of them really knew what to say. Harry swallowed thickly, hesitating, but the tears had stopped streaming down Amora's cheeks at some point during her speech about Dumbledore, so he felt like it was okay to speak.

"I never told you what his last words were," Harry said softly, "When you came to visit me in the medical wing the next day. I never told you what the last thing Cedric said was."

Amora's breath hitched. 

"Would you like to know?" Harry hesitated. 

Amora considered it for a moment before she gave a small nod. 

"When we both got chucked to the graveyard, before we realised something was wrong, Cedric turned to me and he laughed and he said -" Harry took a deep breath, trembling slightly at the memory of Cedric's dead body lying beneath him. "'We did it, Harry. Amora's going to be so- so happy.'"

Amora choked. She raised her hand to her mouth, biting down to stop a sob leaving her lips. The tears started again, streaming and streaming. Harry was crying too, probably from a mixture of things as well as Cedric, silent tears leaving his green eyes as he moved forward and grabbed Amora into a tight hug. 

She collapsed into Harry's arms, crying. And maybe if she knew this would be their last hug for years, she would have made it less bittersweet.

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading <333


End file.
